Martin Winkler wants to become SPÖ chairman-new impulses for Upper Austria!
Martin Winkler wants to become SPÖ chairman-new impulses for Upper Austria!
Martin Winkler (61) announced his candidacy as the new chairman of the SPÖ Upper Austria on Thursday. The search for a successor for Michael Lindner, who retired from politics in November 2022, could be ended. Winkler emphasizes that Upper Austria has to remain an industrial country and calls for the promotion of alternative energies instead of establishing wind power ban areas. The career changer to politics was previously Federal Chairman of Socialist Youth from 1990 to 1992 and looks back on an impressive career as managing director and co-owner of the Treasury consulting company Schwabe, Ley & Greiner.
Winkler was born in Katsdorfer, studied economy at the Johannes Kepler University of Linz and at international universities and was significantly involved in an energy policy project in Burgenland. In 2010 he founded the crowdfunding platform respect.net, which supports socio-political engagement in Austria. Winkler sees it as a central challenge to end the dependence on Russian gas and oil and plans to expand wind, photovoltaic and pumped storage power plants in Upper Austria with the aim of providing cheap energy for industry.
political vision and challenges
In his political ambitions, Winkler wants to strengthen the SPÖ in Upper Austria and emphasize the connection between business and work. His slogan "Performance, respect for this service and security" should help to regain disappointed voters from ÖVP and FPÖ. To achieve this, he has already visited various district groups to imagine and gain support.Winkler plans to mobilize investments of 15 billion euros in wind and photovoltaic projects. He also criticizes transport policy in Upper Austria and the challenges of the Mauthausner Donaubrücke. His focus is clearly on the need to build new photovoltaic, wind power and pumped storage power plants, while he questions the current tax reforms of the ÖVP and their effects on the municipal finances.
- gross current generation 2022:
- wind power: 7.3 terawatt hours (TWH)
- Photovoltaik (PV): 3.5 TWH
- biomass: 3.1 Twh
He refers to the possible goals of the Renewable Expansion Act (EAG), which are set until 2030: 17 TWh from wind power and 13 TWh from photovoltaics. In fact, almost three quarters of the electricity generated in Austria come from renewable sources, with hydropower playing the biggest role. Winkler sees great potential in the acceptance of smaller, private PV systems and calls for a rapid implementation of projects in the field of renewable energies.
social responsibility and personal motivation
Personal experiences with difficult family relationships lead Winkler to also take care of child and youth welfare. Despite growing challenges in state politics, he has clear ideas of how to change the SPÖ Upper Austria and build a strong campaign movement for the state elections in 2027. He has not yet dealt with the topic of cannabis legalization, but focuses on the social and economic well-being of his voters.
The party committees days on Tuesday, and a party conference is planned for autumn to decide on the future orientation of the SPÖ. Winkler is considered the favorite of Alois Stöger, the managing head of the SPÖ, and has already collected valuable support within the party. His vision for Upper Austria could be politically groundbreaking.
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| Ort | Oberösterreich, Österreich |
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