"Red-Green instead of Red-Pale" was the slogan given by the federal spokesperson of the Greens, Werner Kogler, at the end of his speech at the green state assembly, where he did not hold back criticism of the NEOS, for the Vienna election on April 27.

Pühringer and Kraus at the Top of the Green State List for Vienna Election

Before her work with the Greens, Pühringer was the managing director of "arbeit plus," a network of 200 social enterprises, for 15 years. Currently, the 49-year-old business economist holds the position of a non-executive city councilor and, together with Peter Kraus, leads the Vienna party as a duo. Kraus himself was elected to the second list position with 86 percent. Before Pühringer's election, the state assembly was interrupted several times. There was a need for discussion about so-called admission votes - those mandates that have held their seat for two consecutive terms require a two-thirds majority to even be allowed to stand for the list election. Specifically, this concerned Kraus, club leader David Ellensohn, budget spokesperson Martin Margulies, the fourth municipal council president Jennifer Kickert, and health spokesperson Barbara Huemer.

The vote was initially conducted with a joint ballot. According to the counting commission, many ballots could not be assigned, resulting in an unusually high number of invalid votes. Therefore, the vote was repeated individually due to the partly narrow result - to the displeasure of some participants. Margulies failed in this process, while the other four were admitted. The list positions three to eight were secured by municipal councilor Heidi Sequenz, housing spokesperson Georg Prack, culture and family spokesperson Ursula Berner, education and science spokesperson Julia Malle, district councilor Theo Löcker from the green student organization VERDE, and Ellensohn.

Promoting Red-Green After Vienna Election

Currently, Vienna is governed by a coalition of SPÖ and NEOS. For Kogler, it is clear that the next mayor of Vienna will again be Michael Ludwig. "That's OK with me." However, he should choose the Greens as a partner, who already governed with the SPÖ between 2010 and 2020. In contrast, with the NEOS, one does not know: "Are they under the table, next to the table, or above the table?" In the past five years, they have delivered too little. "In Vienna, they are colorless and at the federal level at least unreliable and unpredictable." Kogler also addressed points of conflict with the Reds - such as the Lobau tunnel. In connection with the upcoming budget consolidation at the federal level, he said: "If we have transport projects from the last century and then massive savings are to be made - how is it smart if we concrete over nature reserves with entire highways?"

Pühringer: We Dare to Envision the City of Tomorrow

"We dare to envision the city of tomorrow," emphasized Pühringer in her speech. In Vienna, housing must become affordable again. "Where is the vacancy tax?" she asked towards the SPÖ. "What are you doing with your greatest treasure, the municipal buildings? You are resting on this legacy." She missed a major photovoltaic and renovation offensive for these. Additionally, the "school around the corner" must become the best school for children and teachers. "Where are the German support staff?" Pühringer also promoted a red-green collaboration and referred to green initiatives during the last government participation between 2010 and 2020: "Would there be a 365-euro annual ticket without the brave, without us?" As deputy mayor, Pühringer would not aim for a specific department - she is open to all matters. She named urban planning, transport, women, economy, and housing as important areas. In 2020, the Greens achieved their best result in Vienna with 14.8 percent and secured 16 mandates in the municipal council. However, the most recent national council election in the federal capital was significantly more sobering. The eco-party lost 8.4 percentage points. They landed in fourth place with 12.3 percent, just ahead of the NEOS.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.