Tension in Linz: Mayor election with an uncertain outcome!

Tension in Linz: Mayor election with an uncertain outcome!

Linz, Österreich - in Linz is the election campaign for the mayoral election in full swing! On January 12, 2025, all 215 polling stations opened at 7 a.m., while 151,668 citizens entitled to vote may go to the urn by 4 p.m. Seven candidates are available for election, with the SPÖ, the strongest force, has had to defend the mayor's office since 1945 after Klaus Luger had to resign due to the Brucknerhaus affair. For the SPÖ candidate Dietmar Prammer, the executive vice mayor, it will be a challenging race, since the circumstances are anything but 5min.at emphasized.

urgency of choice

The choice has caused an additional tension because it takes place after the failed attempt by a black and red coalition in the federal government and the newly launched blue-black government talks. A precise forecast of the outcome of the choice is difficult, which increases uncertainty. On January 26, a runoff election will be required, since no majority for one of the candidates will be reached in the first round. In addition to Prammer, Vice Mayor Martin Hajart (ÖVP), City Councilor Eva Schobesberger (Greens), City Councilor Michael Raml (FPÖ), and others come into the election campaign, as ooe.orf

The selection of voters is great: Anyone who is 16 years old on election day who has Austrian or an EU citizenship and has no exclusion from the right to vote may submit their vote. Despite the early choice, the political landscape in the Linz municipal council remains stable, since the SPÖ still holds 22 mandates, followed by the ÖVP with 11 and the Greens with 10 mandates. However, the new mayor will only take a shortened term of two and a half years before the regular elections take place in 2027.