Election thriller in Linz: Prammer and Raml fight for the mayor's crown!

Election thriller in Linz: Prammer and Raml fight for the mayor's crown!

Linz, Österreich - The mayoral election in Linz took an exciting turn on Sunday. Around 152,000 citizens entitled to vote coordinated as to who should lead the city's fortunes in the future. The election had become necessary after Klaus Luger left the office in the middle of 2024. The SPÖ candidate Dietmar Prammer emerged as the clear winner of the first ballot and was able to combine 40.2 percent of the votes, as 5min.at. It is now clear that on January 26, 2025 he will go to Michael Raml from the FPÖ, who received 20.2 percent of the vote.

running candidates and turnout

The general debate about the political positions of the candidates is becoming increasingly intensive. Michael Raml, the security city council, refers to his topics such as security, immigration policy and economic stability. "The cards will be mixed again in two weeks," said Raml optimistically about the upcoming runoff election. In the meantime, Martin Hajart, the ÖVP candidate, was not able to take part in the runoff election with 18.3 percent, while the Greens only reached 13 percent with Eva Schobesberger. Supporters of the smaller parties emphasize their commitment and warn of the low turnout of only 42.2 percent, which is a decline compared to the previous election, as Tips.at notes .

Prammer is satisfied and describes the result as an incentive to fight even more intensely for the voters in the next two weeks. Both candidates now face the challenge of mobilizing the voters for their respective political visions and delimiting themselves from the others. The tension increases while Linz is preparing for the decisive runoff election, which decides who will lead the city by 2027.