The SPÖ had to accept a loss of nine percentage points in the state elections on March 5th. Unpleasant personnel changes were therefore inevitable at all levels. In the state government, however, everything remains the same. Governor Peter Kaiser and Gaby Schaunig, Beate Prettner, Daniel Fellner and Sara Schaar occupy the five SPÖ seats. With one functional restriction: Prettner loses her post as the first deputy governor and becomes a state councillor. “That’s not demotion,” Kaiser says. It was a decision that had to be made, one argument for Schaunig as deputy being her important finance department.
The party executive of the Social Democrats was accompanied by discussions and criticism, in the end the decisions were taken unanimously. “Every person has assured understanding. There have been personal talks with everyone. It is a recipe for success for the Carinthian SPÖ that there is cohesion and togetherness despite the election result,” says Kaiser. With an EU election and a National Council election in the coming government period, further castling cannot be ruled out anyway. Kaiser himself wants to remain available as governor for the next five years, personal circumstances permitting.
Those innovations that some might have expected for the government team can be found in the SPÖ’s state parliament club. Almost half of the mandataries are new. Reinhart Rohr remains the first President of the Landtag, Andreas Scherwitzl becomes the 3rd President of the Landtag. Herwig Seiser remains club chairman, Luca Burgstaller becomes his deputy. Despite parity on the lists, the proportion of women has fallen to four Mandartars – Marika Lagger-Pöllinger, Nicole Schojer, Manuela Lobnik and Ruth Feistritzer. “I would also have liked to have had more women in the club. But the election result has spoken its verdict,” says Kaiser. Claudia Arpa and Manfred Mertel were nominated for the Federal Council.
The ÖVP has already fixed its team in the previous week. In addition to Martin Gruber, who is promoted to second deputy governor, Sebastian Schuschnig will stay on.