For the turquoise-green coalition at least as important as the result is the choice of a partner by Governor Thomas Stelzer (VP).
In the Chancellor’s party, after Ibiza and even more since the outbreak of the pandemic, sympathy for the FPÖ has melted away. The latest example of the aversion to the blue vaccination critics was provided by Interior Minister Karl Nehammer (VP) on Wednesday, who withdrew the word of you from his predecessor Herbert Kickl (FP) in the National Council from the lectern.
Because Sebastian Kurz is an opponent of cooperation with the SPÖ, fortunately for the VP federal chairman, even if the Enns, only the Greens remained as a realistic alternative to black and blue.
The campaign for a new edition of the cooperation in the black-green pioneering country of Upper Austria is all the more intense in the small ruling party, also from Vienna. The top team around Werner Kogler would see blue resistance from Linz removed from the way with a view to the upcoming eco-projects.
The FPÖ is in a delicate position: Herbert Kickl railed against vaccination in the federal capital, Manfred Haimbuchner is constructive in the fight against Corona. Should Stelzer terminate the pact with Haimbuchner, it would be a severe blow for the entire party.
The performance of the Reds will also be significant in terms of federal politics. If they stop their downward trend, party leader Pamela Rendi-Wagner can draw courage. If it sets another defeat, the inner-party squabbles will revive at the federal level, especially between Rendi-Wagner and her Burgenland opponent Hans Peter Doskozil.
Some comrades try to take precautionary measures. You refer to the election calendar: The next state elections (Lower Austria, Tyrol, Carinthia, Salzburg) will not take place until 2023 – there will be enough time to settle internal disputes. (luc, chk)
