Schellhorn for the third time Neos state spokesman: a wake-up call for Salzburg!

Schellhorn for the third time Neos state spokesman: a wake-up call for Salzburg!

Salzburg, Österreich - On May 24, 2025, Sepp Schellhorn was once again elected as the state spokesman for the Neos in Salzburg. In an exciting vote, he received 37 votes, while his challenger achieved 32 votes. Simon Makart, the Neos spokesman, commented on the election and described it as a "wake-up call" for the party. He emphasized the need for a "complete confirmation within the organization" in the coming years in order to emerge from the current crisis. This concern is not unfounded, because the NEOs most recently experienced a debacle in the 2023 state election and had to leave the state government and the state parliament. This led to a resignation of the entire state team and to take over the party by the federal leadership, until Lisa Aldali became a state spokeswoman in October 2023. Your resignation in January 2024 made a new election necessary.

Douglas Hoyos, the Secretary General of the NEOS, praised Schellhorn during the election for his many years of experience and innovative strength. Schellhorn, who had taken the lead of the Neos in Salzburg for the first time in 2012, attributed the state group until mid -2014 and returned as the state spokesman in 2016 after Christian Dreyer's resignation. In the 2018 state election, he was able to successfully establish the NEOS, but did not receive a seat in the state government, whereupon Andrea Klambauer entered the black-green pink coalition.

dogmatism and new challenges

The decline of the NEOS in the elections is a serious challenge. In the 2023 election, they suffered a "medium catastrophe", which led to a massive loss of votes. This development is particularly alarming when you consider that the NEOS has existed for around 10 years. Now the party has to reorganize so as not to disappear from the political parquet. According to reports, the NEOS lost considerably in the last election and has left the state parliament, which underlines the urgency of Schellhorn's new term.

The political context in Salzburg is still characterized by challenges, especially by the strong results of the FPÖ and the KPÖ. While the FPÖ emerged from the election with over seven percent growth as a clear winner, the SPÖ could not keep up and lost to the FPÖ and the KPÖ, which proved to be a serious competitor. This dynamic also influences the future orientation of the NEOS.

For further information on the developments in Salzburg's politics, see the reporting of Salzburg.ORF and News.at .