The Salzburg ÖVP has a new party leader. Former Minister for the Chancellery Karoline Edtstadler was elected on Saturday afternoon as the new state party chairwoman at the state congress in the capital with 97.5 percent of the vote. She succeeds outgoing governor Wilfried Haslauer, who announced his retirement from politics earlier this year. This coming Wednesday, Edtstadler will also be elected as the new governor in the state parliament.
Also elected were Edtstadler’s deputies: Deputy Governor Stefan Schnöll (97.5 percent), who was originally intended as the number one candidate but declined the role earlier this year for family reasons; former Association of Municipalities President Helmut Mödlhammer (91.1 percent); the vice mayor of World Cup host town Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Sandra Hasenauer (97.5 percent); and the state leader of the Salzburg Rural Youth, Maximilian Aigner (95.4 percent).
The internal party handover was originally planned for June 13, but the party postponed the congress due to the rampage in Graz. In fact, Edtstadler has already been leading the ÖVP Salzburg since February 1, as acting state party chairwoman. The 44-year-old is the first woman to lead the party.
Party aims to become younger, more female, and more open
Edtstadler announced plans to restructure the party: “We want to become younger, we want to become more female, and we want to become more open. That doesn’t happen overnight, but we’ve already started.” First, there will be a comprehensive training program with a dedicated party academy. Second, people without a party membership will be allowed to run on the ÖVP list at the local level. Third, she wants to broaden party communications, especially in the area of social media.
The new party chairwoman named three priorities for her future work: first, security, which also includes social security; second, strengthening Salzburg as a business location through reducing bureaucracy and creating room for growth; and third, connecting tradition with modernity: “Those who are deeply rooted can venture out into the world without fear. What matters is to have that sense of connection, because only such values enable foresight and openness.”
Finally, she addressed the 438 delegates with an appeal: “Let’s look to the future together, see this day as a new beginning, and walk this path together. Trust in my experience, my assertiveness, my team spirit, and my unshakable will. Let’s get started.”
“Too much incense blackens the saint”
Haslauer bid farewell to the party in a humorous tone. “Too much incense blackens the saint — especially if he’s already black,” he said, thanking the audience for the opening applause. His 21 years as party leader had flown by, and “the best part was the people who enriched my life.” In 2004, he said, he made two completely irrational decisions: leaving a successful law firm and taking over a party after an election defeat.
“Politics doesn’t work without joy — it has to be fun. I laughed so much over these 21 years, but also got immensely annoyed, and that passes,” he reflected. He believes “we achieved something really important for Salzburg: our roots in this region are at least as strong as they were in 2004, maybe even stronger. People are proud. But we’ve also become more open to the world.”
He ended with a joke: “Whoever can’t let go doesn’t have their hands free. Now I’ll have my hands free for the household,” said Haslauer, before being awarded the Golden Badge of Honor of the Salzburg People’s Party.
Parliament stone as a gift for Haslauer
Federal party chairman and Chancellor Christian Stocker briefly addressed the geopolitical situation in his speech, describing a dangerous combination of wealth, prosperity, and weakness. Looking to the future, he stated that “we will have to part with many things we used to afford in the past.” Subsidies, he said, should again be the exception rather than the rule. As a symbolic gift, he presented Haslauer with a stone from the parliament building in Vienna, “as a sign that you helped build a strong Salzburg and a solid foundation for Austria.” He also praised the new party leader: He had met her at the federal level, and “you shaped politics in a very special way: clear, very consistent, approachable, and with great heart and charm.”
The next step in the “handover” will be a hearing in the state parliament, which Edtstadler will face this coming Monday. Two days later, on Wednesday, she will be elected governor in a vote by show of hands in the state parliament.
