That comes as a surprise! Salzburg’s Mayor Harald Preuner (ÖVP) announced the end of his political career on Friday morning. The move comes as a surprise to most observers, at least at this point in time. Especially because the city manager (63) had emphasized a few weeks ago that he did not want to worry about a possible departure before the upcoming municipal elections. But now it’s clear: a 54-year-old lawyer is to defend the mayor’s chair for the People’s Party…
Preuner will resign in April next year and will therefore no longer stand as a candidate for the upcoming municipal council elections in spring 2024. The reason for this is probably the age of the 63-year-old. Because: A change during the five-year term of office is not planned, which is why the course is now to be set in terms of personnel. Lawyer should defend the mayor’s chair The Salzburg lawyer Florian Kreibich should take over. The 54-year-old ex-member of the state parliament has so far sat on the city council. So far, he has appeared in public primarily in his function as Gaisberg coordinator. Previous deputy was left behindVice mayor Barbara Unterkofler, who had switched from the Neos to the People’s Party a few years ago, lost out in the race for Preuner’s successor Top job set Just yesterday, Preuner (ÖVP) pushed through his long-standing office manager Bernd Huber on an important personnel issue. The lawyer takes over Municipal Department 1, whose management post has been vacant since February. And that despite the fact that he actually only came out second in a hearing. With his second vote, Preuner helped his faithful in the city senate to a career leap. Contrary to the custom of the magistrate to follow commission decisions in committees. “I ask for your understanding that I do not want to comment further on the course and the result,” said the mayor on the phone after the personnel decision. At the end of June, Preuner told the “Krone” that he was staying out of the decision. Now his second vote in the Senate turned the outcome of the election. 13 years as the second man in the city Preuner can look back on a decade-long career in local politics. In 1999, the driving school operator moved into the Salzburg municipal council and became deputy club chairman. From 2004, Preuner acted as deputy for SPÖ mayor Heinz Schaden. When Schaden stumbled over his conviction in the Salzburg financial scandal, Preuner became mayor of the state capital on December 10, 2017. Preuner narrowly fought for re-election in the 2019 local council elections. Not even 300 votes separated him from SPÖ man Bernhard Auinger.
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