Peter Reitzner feels as comfortable on the turntables as he does in the mayor’s chair. But the combination of both worlds causes the opposition to verbally ‘beat’ him. Because she identifies conflicts of interest with the Lower Austrian politician.
At 28 years old, Peter Reitzner from Wilhelmsburg is one of the youngest mayors in the country. After taking office in 2023, the SPÖ politician from the St. Pölten district now faces his first election. Of course not without political opposition. The focus of the criticism is on his years of work as a DJ. Because this is not compatible with his day job as a municipal PR employee.
Stolen motives, conflict of interest?
According to the accusation, Reitzner would give himself assignments during work hours and edit and publish the performances. In addition, his SPÖ uses the graphic design on advertising posters that the city paid a lot of money for years ago.
“Is the community paying for the SPÖ election campaign or was the design stolen by the SPÖ?” asks the opposition. The fact that the mayor’s superior in the office is also club chairman of the SPÖ is the last straw and almost screams of a conflict of interest, they say.
The 28-year-old rejects all this and describes the accusations as “targeted false statements that are not surprising just before the municipal elections.” Reitzner, who has been active in community politics for ten years and worked as a community employee at the water company for the same amount of time, has also been responsible for public relations for a year and a half, as he emphasizes: “This was supported by all parties.”
However, the SPÖ club president mentioned by the opposition had already been hired by his mayoral predecessor. “I have taken charge of the situation, there is no party politics in our work. Each party has the opportunity to present itself in our publications,” assures Reitzner.
The Social Democrat also vehemently denies that he receives money from the community for his DJ work. “I offer my services as a DJ to the community for free. The work for these events takes place in my spare time and is not counted as service time,” says Reitzner. The community’s own events are planned, organized, set up and executed in the PR office. “Everything under our own steam. This means they cost the community very little,” he said.
Conscious choice of color
Advertising on the posters with the turquoise-pink colors of the city was not only allowed for the SPÖ. “Each party could also have used the colors of ‘Wümschburg’. We deliberately chose these colors to remain authentic. A classic SPÖ election campaign in red would not have suited my claim to be mayor for everyone,” Reitzner emphasizes.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
