Election campaign in Leoben: Who will push the SPÖ from the throne?

Election campaign in Leoben: Who will push the SPÖ from the throne?

In the Styrian district capital Leoben, an exciting municipal council election is just around the corner. On March 23, it will be decided whether Mayor Kurt Wallner from the SPÖ can defend his majority in the municipal council or whether the opposition, consisting of a total of six parties, contested the mandate. With 18,788 eligible voters, Leoben has the largest electorate in Styria, including more than 2,000 EU citizens who can also vote. In the last elections in 2020, the SPÖ was able to hold almost 16 mandates, but lost a seat, which increases the pressure on Wallner, to restore the absolute majority of the mandate, as Orf Steiermark reports.

The challenge for Wallner comes from several directions. Both the ÖVP and the KPÖ are strongly represented with five mandates each, while the FPÖ and the Greens hold two seats each. Walter Reiter from the citizens' list and his team also secured a place in the local council. The development in Eisenerz is particularly remarkable, where the ÖVP deliberately broke out for the decades of dominance of the SPÖ and now represents the mayor there with Thomas Rauninger. These strategies and election sequence could have a significant impact on the results in Leoben. In addition, the turnout has dropped by 9.19 percent to only 48.48 percent in 2015, which makes the political process more exciting, as leoben.at reports.

In addition to the established parties, Neos will also compete again after they missed moving into the local council in 2020. The election campaign in Leoben is a real political derby that is eagerly awaited by the citizens - a race for the best ideas and the political future of the city. In Niklasdorf, another municipality, the FPÖ under the leadership of Marco Triller has great ambitions, while in the Kalwang district, an FPÖ stronghold. The political tactics and voters promise an exciting race for power in Leoben.