800 mourners paid their last respects to Hans Seitinger in Frauenberg on Saturday: the politician who died at the age of 64 was a Styrian city councillor for twenty years. “We won’t have someone like that again,” said former governor Hermann Schützenhöfer in tears.
The photo in front of his oak coffin, on which lay a black firefighter’s helmet and a white bouquet of roses, showed Hans Seitinger as most Styrians knew him from many personal encounters: laughing heartily on the balustrade of the country house in Graz.
He had been walking back and forth there for twenty years, shaking countless hands, negotiating hard and joking with his employees. From there he drove tens of thousands of kilometers into the regions every year, met ‘his’ farmers and forest rangers and was always a welcome and humorous guest at festivals and events.
Even though the meetings lasted late into the night, his insults and warmth never left him. He was a politician you could deal with on a first-name basis, who preferred to say “you” rather than “you”, and who remembered the names of those he had ever met.
“People liked him”
“He loved the people and the people loved him,” said Hermann Schützenhöfer, who fought back tears at the funeral of the former state councillor on Saturday. “No problem was too big for him, no concern too small. We won’t have someone like that again.” The former governor spoke from the hearts of many companions, colleagues and friends and those for whom Seitinger had an open ear.
Many of them paid their last respects to him on Saturday afternoon. 800 mourners came to the Frauenberg pilgrimage church in St. Marein, including former governor Waltraud Klasnic, former governor Franz Voves, almost the entire state government and Minister of Agriculture Norbert Totschnig. “Being there for others was his life program. He could listen like no other,” emphasizes state manager Christopher Drexler.
Seitinger was an advisor to both ÖVP party leaders for a long time; he was a hard, tireless worker on whom they could rely. Even from his hospital bed, he still wrote text messages to Drexler and gave one or two tips. “You left your mark on Styria, you were one of the most loyal servants in the country.”
Seitinger fought as a state councillor and fought for his health after leaving office. Last Sunday, the politician, who was popular across party lines, died of a serious illness. He was 63 years old.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
