New mayor in Düns: 88.05 percent for Lukas Batlogg!

New mayor in Düns: 88.05 percent for Lukas Batlogg!

In the Vorarlberg municipal elections on March 17, 2025, significant changes were made at the top of several communities. In Düns, in particular, where Lukas Batlogg was the only candidate to be elected mayor with 88.05 percent of the vote, and in Weiler, where Simeon Summer takes over at 88.03 percent, the new faces are emerging. Summer succeeds Dietmar Summer, who will retire after 15 years in office and thus leaves the political stage. The situation is similar to Jürgen Haller in Schruns, who prevailed against Martin Sadjak with only eight votes and took over the leadership of Tobias Kieber, who had only taken up the office in June 2024.

The election day also brought further Female Power into office: four women were elected mayor in several communities. Elisabeth Kuster, the first mayor in the Montafon, won 67 percent against the FPÖ candidate. This shows that the voters in Vorarlberg are willing to set fresh impulses. The consequences of these elections could be noticeable in the long term in the political landscape of the region. Regional changes also took place in the Kleinwalsertal, where Joachim Fritz from the FPÖ was already elected as the new mayor with 55 percent of the vote in the first ballot. Fritz took over the office of Andi Haid, who no longer competed after 15 years. The election to the municipal council also provided surprises: the Initiative Pro Kleinwalsertal (Pro) won 33 percent of the vote and did not provide a candidate for mayor.

The turnout was 307,890, with an increase of around 36,000 since the last state election. This shows that interest in municipal affairs is high, since Union citizens with the main residence in Vorarlberg can also vote. In total, the elections took place in 96 Vorarlberg communities, which underlines the importance of these difficult decisions that affect every citizen directly.

Overall, the elections not only reflect the current moods in the communities, but also mark a clear trend towards new faces and change in the political management structure. While some community leaders retire, fresh talents push on the political stage.