From Kurz to Nehammer – ÖVP Party Conference: The Long Tribulations of a Boss Change

1.) Together with Elisabeth Köstinger and Margarete Schramböck, the Ministers of Agriculture and Economy have resigned. They had one thing in common: Although Köstinger belonged to the inner circle of power and Schramböck was considered a political lightweight, they were unconditionally loyal followers of Sebastian Kurz, to whom they owed their office.

2.) As the new chancellor, Karl Nehammer must be glad to be rid of her. Because in the APA/OGM confidence index data, both women were very bad. Köstinger even held the very last seat of all members of the government. As early as March, only 27 percent of voters said they trusted her. 64 percent – more than twice as many – indicated that they had no confidence in Köstinger.

Why didn’t Nehammer renounce Kurz’s legacy sooner?
3.) Schramböck has sad memories of the fact that she promoted the Austria department store at the beginning of the corona pandemic for shopping on the internet. A project was announced that should put the online giant Amazon in the shadows. The result was a ridiculous website that cost a lot of money and that students in every high school had better programmed. So why didn’t Nehammer renounce Kurz’s legacy sooner?

4.) If Nehammer were to follow the above index of high or low confidence in government politicians, he would have to fire the majority of his ministerial staff today or tomorrow at the latest. The majority of those suspected of being heirs to Kurz also include Women’s Minister Susanne Raab, Defense Secretary Klaudfia Tanner, Europe Secretary Karoline Edtstadler and Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg.

5.) Unfortunately, Education Minister Martin Polaschek and Interior Minister Gerhard Karner are nowhere near more popular than Nehammer’s inventions. So the new chancellor can hardly depopulate his part of the government if he cut ties with all unpopular politicians in one fell swoop. Moreover, the ÖVP conducts business around their party congress in such a way that the general opinion of all Austrians is uninteresting – after all, the supporters of other parties make up the majority – but the internal party logic counts.

Nehammer thinks we are naive
6.) Speaking of stupid, here Nehammer sells us as naive to say the least. He says the state and sub-organizations of the ÖVP have played no role in the ministerial succession. Is it a coincidence that the Tyrolean business coordinator Susanne Kraus-Winkler succeeded the Tyrolean business coordinator Schramböck as Minister of Economic Affairs as State Secretary at the Ministry of Economic Affairs? Is it a coincidence that the Tyrolean office manager of the Tyrolean governor Platter became second secretary of state? Is it a coincidence that Norbert Totschnig, who by the way comes from Tyrol, became Minister of Agriculture after Köstinger?

7.) One must ask Platter whether that corresponds to the importance of his state party, or whether he is so unimportant that Tyrol only needs happy coincidences? On the other hand, on Nehammer’s credit side is Martin Kocher, who is now super minister of the economy and labour. Martin Kocher is party-less, has the best confidence ratings and could become a symbol that Nehammer is pursuing an independent personnel policy and breaking away from Kurz’s past.

8.) Of course, there was one person at the party conference that all eyes were on: said ex-chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who was also Nehammer’s predecessor as Turkey’s federal party leader. His involvement in the party congress meant square the circle for the ÖVP. Either all the media report that people distance themselves from him, or that he is too much in the center of attention. However you do it, it would be criticized.

9.) Had Kurz had to go to the bathroom or blow his nose hard at the most inappropriate moment of Nehammer’s speech on Saturday, it would have made headlines. The podium interview with Kurz was a good compromise, which also did not bother the group of nostalgic fanatic Kurz fans or those of the sober doubters within the party.

Kurz has a worse image than Nehammer
10.) Meanwhile, Kurz has a distinctly worse image than Nehammer, without shining a light on. So when Kurz recently gave a big interview here in the “Krone”, it serves exactly one purpose: itself. He tries to polish his image again. With his version of the story of being accused by the Public Prosecution Service and by the self-portrait of being successful in business and loving family man. Nehammer helps zero. The chancellor must hope that Kurz stops his public relations work for himself if possible.