Elections in Vorarlberg: poster flood or resource -saving election campaigns?

Elections in Vorarlberg: poster flood or resource -saving election campaigns?

Bregenz, Österreich - In Vorarlberg, the municipal elections are just around the corner that will take place on March 16. The first election posters are already visible, because according to the Vorarlberg law, such posters may be attached at the earliest four weeks before the election. But not in the same way in all communities is advertised for votes. While in louder communities like Lauterach, the parties do without poster advertising in order to pursue a more environmentally friendly campaign strategy, the neighboring community of Hard looks very different. There the public is literally flooded with posters. The mayor candidate of NEOS, Christian Prossliner, criticizes this poster flood as irritating and calls for an upper limit for the number of posters, similar to how it was agreed in the state election, reported Vorarlberg.orf.

variety of campaign methods

In Frastanz, the parties that appear on an election without outdoor advertising have agreed, since they prefer the personal address of the voters instead. There are also creative approaches in Bregenz: Mayor Michael Ritsch relies on the original design of his posters with personal trademarks, while his competitor, Roland Breakfast from the ÖVP, advertises with a pun. Despite the diversity of the methods, the regulations for the posteration remain strict. The posters must be removed at least two weeks after the election and must not endanger traffic safety.

But the resistance to the poster is not new. FPÖ club boss Dieter Egger already expressed his aversion to election posters in the past, wishes to "post the poster-free state election campaign" and suggests to shorten the posting period from six to four weeks. This proposal was supported by other party colleagues, but there were also critical voices, as from ÖVP club chairman Roland Breakfast, which indicates the inconsistency of Eggers claims. This shows how controversial the topic of election advertising in Vorarlberg remains, as the VN reported.