“Krone” elephant round – candidate appearance: frightening to sympathetic

Plain text was promised in advance, plain text was also delivered a few days before the Tyrolean state elections: the top candidates discussed the hottest topics quite aggressively on Wednesday in the “Krone” studio. How did the party leaders present themselves? The Tyrolean politics and communication expert Peter Plaikner in the “Krone” interview.

“Krone”: Mr. Plaikner, what was your impression of the “Krone” elephant round? Peter Plaikner: It was much more lively and communicative – also between the candidates – than the previous TV discussions. There was more interaction – and also hacked. About the format itself: I found it very exciting that the candidates could ask each other questions. Because that reveals a lot – both about the questioner and about the answerer. It tells me what kind of character I can suspect behind the politicians, and that was the most revealing part for me. How did each candidate fare? Anton Mattle was a major disappointment to those who saw him for the first time. For everyone else, the bad impression is likely to have intensified. You notice: TV formats are not his. He seemed stereotyped and – frighteningly – like a representative of a small party. You had to ask yourself: Does he have the stature for a governor? Georg Dornauer was statesmanlike, he presented the “transformed Schorsch”, who has learned from his blunders. Gebi Mair was the contrast: In a T-shirt under his jacket, he acted like an opposition politician. He tried to blur the fact that as club boss he was practically an extended arm of the state government. But the others kept reminding him of that. Of course that’s right. What are your thoughts on Markus Abwerzger? He brought up a possible speculation by Tiwag/Tigas. He also reported that the “Bauernzeitung” advertised for Josef Geisler despite the ban on accepting donations. How much did the Mattle hurt or help Abwerzger? Not particularly. Party funding is an elite issue that is overrated, people don’t think about it that much. As far as the Tiwag/Tigas are concerned: the topic has now been discussed in so many details that people are no longer able to keep up. It’s also a very complicated subject. Mattle is firm on the energy issue, but he overestimates the capacity of citizens. Who even knows what a terawatt hour is? To Abwerzger: He was the most aggressive, as was to be expected. Feels also the one with the longest speaking time. With this appearance, however, he did not live up to the unreal but placarded claims of the governor. He didn’t seem integrative and constructive enough for that. What impression did Andrea Haselwanter-Schneider and Dominik Oberhofer leave on you? Haselwanter-Schneider scores with sympathy, and not just because she’s the only woman around. She comes across as authentic and convinces with normality, although she would certainly not get first place for rhetoric, but she is simply likeable. I am ambivalent about Dominik Oberhofer. On the one hand, he made a remarkable appearance as a representative of a small party, like a fish in water, you can tell: he likes it. On the other hand, I always ask myself: how much is he identified with the NEOS? Compared to Matthias Strolz and Beate Meinl-Reisinger, he looks completely different. He is trying to be an offer for ÖVP voters from the tourism sector, which was noticed when it came to the electricity bill. Shortly before the election, all factions are in favor of wind turbines and all of them are in favor of a transparent party coffers. Surprised? Yes. But that is typical before the election and also due to the data from surveys that everyone has: the population thinks pragmatically when it comes to wind turbines. In the beginning, little thought was also given to wind turbines: are cable cars nicer than wind turbines? No, they are at least as ugly. The glass party box office really surprised me. But the fact that everyone is in favor of it in a TV discussion could also be because you don’t really believe that it will be implemented in the state parliament. Who likes to be looked at in their books? It could also be lip service or table service.
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