The ÖVP is “no longer with our people and their concerns,” the black tourism spokesman Franz Hörl in parliament, who was ranked in the hopeless 21st place on the federal list, was quoted as saying in the “Tiroler Tageszeitung” (Tuesday edition).
And that’s not all: the Zillertal hotelier and farmer said he felt little effort during the election campaign: “We are in the process of losing the claim to be an ÖVP heartland.” The Tyrolean ÖVP suffered a significant decline in the National Council election – similar to the federal party – and – starting from a higher level – lost almost 15 percentage points. According to the preliminary final result, the FPÖ landed at 31.04 percent with massive gains and 28.75 percent close on its heels. There were black losses in all municipalities, while the Freedom Party made gains across the board and reached first place in eleven of the 17 largest municipalities in the state.
Mattle also receives criticism
Hörl In any case, he gave a sobering result for his political homeland. There is no success in rural areas or in cities. “We no longer seem to be able to reach people and, on the other hand, we have structural problems in management,” he said, describing failings at the party headquarters on Fallmerayerstrasse in Innsbruck. And he recommended to his state party chairman, Governor Anton Mattle: “Perhaps now is finally the right time to think about the decisions that have been made.” Also forgot about the bankruptcy in the Innsbruck local council elections in the spring Hörl not: This was “a disaster” – and “to date it hasn’t even been dealt with.”
In the past, the Zillertal-based multi-entrepreneur was not particularly well-spoken about Mattle, as he had not been included on the state list and had hoped for more support from the state boss for his placement on the federal list. So after – with interruptions – around 15 years in Parliament, there is a risk of being eliminated if the 67-year-old does not make it into the House of Representatives thanks to enough preferential votes, which was considered unlikely. A final result was still pending.
Mattle had spoken of a disappointing result at federal and state levels, but pointed out that the Tyrolean ÖVP still achieved one of the best People’s Party results. “People liked the clear edge in terms of performance and ownership. We have to be consistent here.”
