VIENNA. The Vienna ÖVP elected a new – executive – chairman on Friday evening
The Vienna People’s Party had to look for a new boss, as Blümel also threw in the towel after the final departure of ex-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and the resignation of Federal Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg. He had been at the head of the state party since 2015. Mahrer is now the 19th Austrian ÖVP chairman since 1945.
In the evening, the program included meetings of the party presidium and the board of directors. Formally, the designated new Viennese ÖVP boss is initially in office.
The vote and the agreement on Karl Mahrer are a “clear sign of the unity of our community of ideology and a solidarity with districts, sub-organizations and the numerous functionaries of the People’s Party of Vienna”, it said in a broadcast. With Mahrer, there will be a chairman at the head of the People’s Party of Vienna, who as a person is inextricably linked with the city, especially due to his professional past.
In the area of security, he was a proven expert and specialist thanks to his many years of professional experience in leading positions within the Vienna police – most recently as state police vice president. “As security spokesman for the People’s Party at federal level, Karl Mahrer was and is a mainstay in the National Council Club and from this position he developed numerous initiatives in Vienna. Among other things, he made a significant contribution to the new police station at the Praterstern.”
Mahrer is – like Blümel recently – not in the Vienna state parliament. In his function as a member of the National Council, as the regional party chairman of the People’s Party, he would be able to represent the interests of Vienna in the federal government, it was said with confidence.
“It is particularly important to me to stop the current spiral of aggression within political work. In my new role I will aggressively shake hands with everyone in order to get back on a constructive political course together – so that politics become successful again for the people works. As a person, I stand for politics with heart, brain and expertise, “explained Mahrer. The People’s Party of Vienna will put a special focus on constructive opposition politics at all levels, he promised.
A regular state party convention, at which Karl Mahrer and his team will be elected, is to take place in the course of the coming year – although no exact date has yet been given. “In the course of this, the content of the Vienna People’s Party will be further developed and the political priorities will be defined,” announced the ÖVP. The focus here will be on promoting Vienna as a business location, strengthening small and medium-sized enterprises and committed to an “active performance society”.
The subject of “security in a modern city” will also become a central topic, it said. It was emphasized that concepts and ideas for strengthening the subjective feeling of security should be incorporated with a special focus on the elderly in our society. The issues of integration and migration are also important to him, explained Mahrer: “In addition to stopping illegal migration, a particular concern for me is a functioning integration in Vienna.
