Change in Kapfenberg – where as a city boss you receive verbal blows

“Kron”: Mr. Scratch, how are you feeling after your first week out of work?
Fritz Kratzer: Emotionally, I am still on vacation and not retired. I have no idea how long that will last.

Please describe the office of Mayor of Kapfenberg in a few sentences!
Scratch: As mayor you are an anchor for the population. When a situation seems hopeless, you are often the last person they turn to. On the other hand, it is important to move a city forward. You have to be persistent and use your network.

Is there a day off as mayor?
Scratch: No, you are mayor 24 hours a day, seven days a week. People often approach you cautiously on the street: ‘I know, you’re private now…’. I always responded, “I’m never private.”

How has Corona changed the way citizens deal with politics?
Scratch: In the first wave, people often needed orientation. Later, a huge divide emerged in society, for example when it came to testing and vaccination. You felt like everyone was hitting each other on the head. It was dramatic that people could not visit their grandchildren in other neighborhoods or their dying mother in a nursing home. I agreed with the police chief of Kapfenberg at the time that we would under no circumstances punish anyone, but would only draw attention to things. I focused mostly on what my feelings were saying.

Mr. Bachernegg, what was your path in politics?
Matthäus Bachernegg: Nine years ago, sitting on the couch in front of the TV, I was annoyed by the outcome of the elections in Vienna, because HC Strache had won so much. I then decided to become politically active and volunteered for the SPÖ the next day, because this best reflects my values. I was always interested in politics, but before that I was not politically active. It was never the plan to become a city councilor or even mayor.
Scratch: I “pushed” that on him (laughs).
Bachernegg: When I was asked if I wanted to become a city councilor, I talked about it with my wife over a bottle of wine. At the mayor’s office she said: Now it doesn’t matter.

Where do you see the most important challenges for the coming years?
Bacherneg: We are a very successful city and I want to continue on this path. There are a lot of little wheels you can turn to get even better – I’m a perfectionist. There will be no prestige projects. The budget situation is a major challenge for municipalities; even an extremely financially strong city like Kapfenberg has to convert every euro two to three times.

Mr. Krater, in a “Krone” interview in 2017 you praised the cooperation with the mayors of the region. Does that still apply?
Scratch: It stayed that way. Especially now that budgets are getting tighter, we have become closer together. Everyone has the same concerns. We are not competitors.
Bacherneg: But I think we need to work even closer together. We are a very strong region from Mürzzuschlag to Trofaiach and form a good counterbalance in Styria to the larger Graz area. But in some cases there is still parochial thinking.

In 2017 we also talked about the old industrial image of the region. Has that changed today?
Scratch: Well, we still have to counter the image of the industrial city with smoke coming out of the chimneys. This may be a generational question.
Bacherneg: We need more self-confidence. We can be proud of being a working-class city, with many world leaders who are here because of the best people. At my printing company I had customers from Vienna who expected gray industrial buildings and were then surprised at how green and beautiful the city is.

The FH Joanneum will move to the city center for the first time next year. What do you expect?
Bacherneg: With young people you can breathe new life into a city center; That is currently extremely difficult with catering and retail. The FH will become a bridgehead between Europaplatz and Hauptplatz. We hope for more courses and we have secured a piece of land for expansion.

How can one assess the significance of Voestalpine’s new stainless steel factory?
Scratch: The decision was a guarantee for the generation. The lifespan is set at 70 years. If it had been built elsewhere, for example in China, it would have been fatal for Europe. If the factory had moved, we would have lost the future. We don’t live from tourism, we live from the Böhlerstadt. If you build a settlement here, you immediately have a citizen movement against it. When you build a stainless steel factory, it was clear to everyone in Kapfenberg that we needed it.

Mr. Bachernegg, you were a successful entrepreneur. This background is quite unusual for an SPÖ mayor.
Bacherneg: For us at SPÖ Kapfenberg, the entrepreneur is not an enemy.
Scratch: You can’t just give out money, you have to take it. In our group there were often requests that ran into hundreds of thousands of euros. I then asked, “And where can we save money?”

As an SPÖ politician, how do you view the national and state elections in the autumn?
Bachernegg: We must make the change. I was disappointed by the outcome of the European elections and there is no reason to soften anything. We have to work hard and present solutions. I have a lot of confidence in the state elections.

Anton Lang has called on the SPÖ to take more action on migration. Do you agree with that?
Bachernegg: There must be a certain influx due to demographic developments. However, the newcomers must integrate and accept our society, but they must also be given opportunities and work. I think you have to listen carefully to the population and not overwhelm them.
Scratch: People from 17 countries work in the nursing home. If they weren’t there, who would take care of our elderly? The migrants who need help must be helped. Anyone who does not behave like a guest loses the right to be a guest. You also have to talk about the human rights treaty. We had a problem in Kapfenberg with a Chechen criminal who could not be deported after his imprisonment. He was running around freely. This is a catastrophe, people don’t understand it.

Is the issue of inflation still a concern for the population?
Bachernegg: Yes, there was just a lady there whose apartment has become much more expensive. She only has a small pension. This poses major challenges for people. That is the special thing about local politics: we are not somewhere high up, but we go to the people. In the central square (directly in front of the town hall, mind you) we get a verbal “punishment” if you have done something stupid. But you also hear the positive things. Maybe the big politicians should switch to city politics.
Scratch: But not for too long, they ruin everything (laughs).

Mr Krat, finally: Do you remain a political person?
Scratch: Yes, but I stay away from major political institutions. The new mayor knows my telephone number and can always call me. But I don’t talk from behind.