Carinthia’s Greens have analyzed their disappointing result in the state elections at a board meeting held on Monday. Despite not being able to re-enter the state parliament under top candidate Olga Voglauer, there were no debates regarding personnel changes. Instead, the party discussed and planned for the future structure during the coming months, as Voglauer stated after the meeting on Monday.
The issue of settling the election campaign costs was also addressed during the meeting. According to the provisional final result on Sunday, the Greens received 3.85 percent of the votes, which is likely to be a tiny increase of 0.73 percentage points.
However, this was still not enough for them to enter the state parliament. The Greens had previously been ousted in 2018 due to internal disputes.
Although the party has presented itself more harmoniously in recent times, the top candidate Voglauer failed to achieve the same level of success as in the National Council election, where the Greens received 9.51 percent of the votes (equivalent to almost 30,000 votes).
Voglauer was quoted saying, “We have learned to be an extra-parliamentary opposition. We will continue to sharpen this role,” when asked how they plan to organize themselves for the coming years.
The Carinthian Greens emphasized that climate protection will be given priority in their politics, and they will work on better translating this topic. However, the party also received another bitter pill as they discovered that if they had re-entered the state parliament, the newly formed faction would have been entitled to a bonus of 500,000 euros.
This is club funding that was not used in the 2013 to 2018 legislative period. Voglauer clarified that the sum that had been handed over to a trustee would now also be repaid to the state. The party is relying on strength and energy rather than “euros”.
In light of their disappointing results, the Greens analyzed their previous head of state’s role, and some members believe that the former head of state should continue to lead the party. The idea of maintaining continuity within the party was discussed, and it was agreed that they would benefit from the previous head of state’s experience.
Carinthia’s Greens acknowledged the current political landscape and accepted their current status as an extra-parliamentary opposition. They believe that their role is vital in holding the government accountable, particularly in matters relating to climate protection.
The party expressed a strong desire to continue sharpening their opposition role and working towards translating climate protection policies more effectively. The Greens are optimistic that with strength and energy, they can make a significant impact in the political landscape.