524 of 524 delegates elected Karl Nehammer as their new boss on Saturday at the ÖVP federal party conference in Graz. 100 percent approval, that’s never been the case with the ÖVP.
The result was “a signal of unity and discipline in a difficult time for the party,” says political scientist Thomas Hofer in the KURIER interview. Addendum: “But not more than that either.” The big visions, the pithy sayers or even a reorientation – that was missing in the almost hour-long speech with which Nehammer applied for the party chairmanship.
Rather, he undertook a “Tour d’Horizon”; was careful not to offend anyone. Of course, there is a risk of a certain arbitrariness, says Hofer – also towards the electorate. But that is not a Nehammer specific: Sebastian Kurz already tried to seal the party thematically – also and especially in the direction of the social democrats. The Liberals and their themes were only marginally mentioned in Nehammer’s work.
Hofer sees a big parenthesis: security, on all levels. Internal security, security for small and medium-sized businesses, for pensioners and also for the supply of energy and food during the Ukraine war.
Hofer believes that Nehammer is reacting to the insecurity of the population: “He would like to be seen as someone who steers the stormy sea with a steady hand.”
