Centre-left candidate beats Communist in Salzburg mayoral run-off By Reuters

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Social Democrat’s candidate for mayor’s elections Bernhard Auinger attends an interview with Reuters in Salzburg, Austria March 20, 2024. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photograph

VIENNA (Reuters) – The centre-left deputy mayor of Salzburg, Bernhard Auinger, beat his Communist rival Kay-Michael Dankl in a run-off vote for mayor on Sunday and pledged to work with him after Dankl targeted on excessive housing prices in considered one of Austria’s hardest-hit cities.

Dankl, 35, led his celebration to second place on this month’s metropolis council election, shut behind Auinger’s Social Democrats. Simply 821 votes separated the 2 males within the separate, first-round vote for mayor of the nation’s fourth largest metropolis, greatest recognized to vacationers as the house of Mozart and “The Sound of Music”.

“Other than the day I met my spouse and the beginning of my two fantastic daughters, immediately is unquestionably the happiest day of my life,” Auinger, 50, mentioned in a press release to the media alongside Dankl after he emerged the clear winner with most votes counted from the second spherical.

With all however postal ballots counted, he had 63.1% of the vote to Dankl’s 36.9%.

“I consider that Kay can be a powerful addition to our metropolis authorities. I’m satisfied that we’ll work collectively excellently,” Auinger mentioned. Whereas Austria’s second metropolis, Graz, already has a Communist mayor, profitable in Salzburg would have been a uncommon triumph for a celebration not even in nationwide parliament.

Auinger instructed Reuters final week that Dankl’s pledge to construct 1,000 items of subsidised rental housing a yr to alleviate town’s housing disaster was unrealistic, suggesting 1,500 over 5 years as a substitute.

However he did say he favoured placing Dankl in control of housing within the metropolis.

“That 4 out of 10 voters gave us their belief in immediately’s election exhibits that many individuals desire a totally different social coverage,” Dankl mentioned.

Talking to Puls 24 tv later, Dankl added: “The important thing situation in Salzburg is that housing prices proceed to rise. Town authorities might do one thing about that, for instance by investing extra in subsidised rental lodging,” he mentioned.

“The misappropriation of dwelling area by Airbnb, hypothesis and vacant flats may very well be higher introduced beneath management.”