Federal President Wöginger

August Wöginger’s reelection as chairman of the ÖAAB with 95.9% of delegate votes has prompted satire about whether he could reach Austria’s highest office. His first-instance conviction for inciting abuse of office appears not to have affected the result, and the ÖVP senses an opportunity.

In a fictional exchange, party figures Karl Stocker and Gstöttner discuss marketing Wöginger as a determined and unifying fighter for Austria. Stocker suggests that he could run for federal president, while Gstöttner points out that Wöginger’s trust rating stands at 48% below zero, even worse than Herbert Kickl’s.

The dialogue also acknowledges the FPÖ’s strong position in opinion polls. Still, Stocker argues that if the ÖAAB trusts Wöginger, other voters might do the same. The satire imagines him as “Grüß-Gott-August,” holding regular citizens’ consultation days in the presidential office and forwarding their concerns for review.

The imagined conclusion is deliberately exaggerated: Stocker says the strategy could help the party win an absolute majority at federal level.