Christopher Drexler – “Crown Prince”: This is how the future governor is typing

Christopher Matthias Drexler scribbled his initials CMD on many a car when he was young. This isn’t about teenage acts of vandalism, though, but about an early career aspiration: He wanted to be a car designer – at least that’s what Juliane Bogner-Strauß, a government colleague and one of his associates, recalls. Life had other plans for Drexler, who was born in Graz in 1971, but the mix of artistic appreciation and enthusiasm for motorsport would still be significant in his career.

It was precisely this career that he started – after a childhood full of adventures in the Metahof Park of Graz – as a student representative at the Kepler-Gymnasium of Graz. And Werner Amon, who worked with Drexler in the Young ÖVP, also remembers a devoted young politician. “He showed his ability to lead, especially in conflict situations – not ducking, but talking things through.”

This is how the ill-fated community came about
With this wealth, Drexler would go far: in 1991 he took over the leadership of the Junge ÖVP, in 1992 he became State Secretary of the ÖAAB, in 2000 he was a mandatary in the Styrian state parliament for the first time. In 2003 he became ÖVP club president under Waltraud Klasnic and remained so when the latter lost the post of governor in the 2005 elections and Hermann Schützenhöfer took over from the Styrian ÖVP.

The two became a “sympathetic community of destiny,” as Amon calls it. “He follows a path that can be justified by values ​​and ideals. He thinks in generations and has visions,” Schützenhöfer describes.

Without Drexler there would be no “Schützenhöfer era”
Drexler was needed for the Schützenhöfer era because he was ready to attack the hot potato. From 2005 he was the rhetorical spearhead of his party in the conflict and intrigue-ridden coalition between the SPÖ and ÖVP. He consistently referred to Franz Voves, who was elected head of state in 2005, as the “currently incumbent governor”.

Then in 2010 – through the formation of the so-called reform partnership – not only did the SP-VP relationship drastically change, but Drexler’s role changed as well: he now fiercely defended all major joint reform projects – especially the controversial municipal mergers, which many black mayors went on to do. drive on the barricades.

Municipal merger and hospital reform
In 2014 he became State Council for Science, Research, Health and Care Management. Once again, an unwelcome but also inevitable project fell into his lap – the hospital reform. The structural reorganization of the Styrian hospital system brought him many opponents – especially in Liezen, keyword: leading hospital. That Drexler didn’t implement the hospital reform himself—unlike the municipal mergers—probably has to do with the annoying clog of the lead hospital threatening to block his path to becoming governor.

“It was fun arguing with Christopher”
Despite all these unpleasant tasks, he managed to be appreciated by political opponents: “How nice to argue with Christopher”, recalls Kurt Flecker (SPÖ), one of his predecessors as Councilor for Culture – a position that Drexler has held since 2017 likes and what it is made for. When you travel with Drexler, he always has a book on hand, which he only puts down when interesting discussions arise with his fellow travelers.

Also as State Councilor for Culture, he shows creative will: he put the Styrian show on track, made possible the corona monuments initiated by the “Krone” and instructed the scene, including representatives of the cultural offices, to take stock. of current regional conferences.

Too intellectual, not close to the people?
All this has led to Drexler being traded as heir to the throne for years – even if he was considered by some to be “too intellectual” and not “close to the people”. Internal party rivals came and went, but Drexler remained at the top of the favorites list. Now CMD will indeed be at the head of the country.