DistantNews
Support us
🇦🇹 Austria /Elections & Politics

ÖAAB: Almost 96 Percent Back Wöginger

From Die Presse · () German

Translated from German and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • August Wöginger was re-elected chairman of the ÖAAB, the Austrian People’s Party’s workers’ association, with 95.9 percent of delegate votes at a congress in Haag.
  • The result came despite his first-instance conviction in the Finanzamt affair, for which he received a suspended seven-month sentence and appealed.
  • Wöginger used his speech to criticize the FPÖ’s ties to the Identitarian movement, while his deputies received more than 99 percent support.

August Wöginger’s first-instance conviction in the Finanzamt affair did not dent his standing within the ÖVP. At the ÖAAB congress in Haag, delegates re-elected the former party parliamentary leader as chairman with 95.9 percent of the vote.

Wöginger has led the ÖVP’s workers’ association since 2016. Although he appealed his conviction, he stepped down immediately in May as the party’s parliamentary group leader in the National Council. He retained his positions as ÖAAB chairman and social affairs spokesman.

In his speech, Wöginger focused his attack on the FPÖ and its links to the Identitarian movement. He pointed to terms such as “Aryan bones” and “skull measurements,” saying they came from the darkest period of Austrian history. The ÖAAB and the People’s Party, he said, had to make clear that they rejected such language. “Because I do not want a self-appointed People’s Chancellor in Austria,” Wöginger said.

Because I do not want a self-appointed People’s Chancellor in Austria.

· August Wöginger, ÖAAB chairmanWöginger used the line while criticizing the FPÖ and its links to the Identitarian movement.

The congress motto in Haag, “Gu(s)t for the future,” played on Wöginger’s nickname and reflected the strong backing he enjoys in the organization. He said the AAB stood for everyone “who carries our country day after day.” Performance, he argued, creates prosperity, prosperity creates social security, and social security creates cohesion.

Several government members attended the congress, including Interior Minister Gerhard Karner and Minister for the Chancellery Claudia Bauer. Parliamentary group leader Ernst Gödl and Lower Austria’s governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner also traveled to Haag. Wöginger’s deputies secured even stronger results: FCG leader Romana Deckenbacher, Upper Austrian deputy governor Christine Haberlander, Tyrol’s deputy state parliament president Dominik Mainusch, Vorarlberg ÖVP parliamentary group leader Veronika Marte and Lower Austrian regional minister Christiane Teschl-Hofmeister each received more than 99 percent. Federal Councillor Günther Ruprecht received more than 98 percent.

who carries our country day after day

· August Wöginger, ÖAAB chairmanHe used the phrase to describe the people for whom the AAB says it stands.
About this summary

Originally published by Die Presse in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog