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Hietzing has a new boss: Johanna Sperker is taking over!
Johanna Sperker was elected as the new district leader of Hietzing after Nikolaus Ebert resigned due to losing his mandate.
Hietzing has a new boss: Johanna Sperker is taking over!
Today Johanna Sperker was elected as the new district leader of Hietzing, a step that represents a new beginning for both her and the Vienna People's Party. Her rise comes after a turbulent period in which internal party conflicts initially sidelined her. Nikolaus Ebert, her predecessor and the ÖVP's top candidate in Hietzing, was the person responsible for an internal party coup against Sperker over a year ago. The ÖVP has since lost popularity in Hietzing and suffered a decline of 16 percentage points, which ultimately resulted in Ebert's departure, as Die Presse reports.
Long-time district boss Silke Kobald resigned on September 6, 2023, paving the way for Sperker. On September 28, she was introduced as her designated successor. In the election to the ÖVP district party executive, the members clearly voted for Sperker. Karl Mahrer, the head of the Vienna People's Party, congratulated her and praised Kobald's achievements, while other party colleagues such as Michael Gorlitzer also raved about Sperker's reliability and hard work, as My District reports.
New chapter for Hietzing
The transfer of power took place on the night of Thursday to Friday; Sperker prevailed against her competitors in a tense vote with 17 votes to 13. Ebert is stepping down from the job after the ÖVP lost seven seats in the district council. The reactions from the opposition, which critically question the ÖVP's internal cohesion after the election debacle, cannot be ignored.
In her first statement after the election, Johanna Sperker emphasized the need to regain the trust of the Hietzingers. She also announced that she would focus on maintaining the quality of life in the district and strengthening the infrastructure. The topics of neighborhoods, families and the needs of different generations should be the focus of their future projects. The next big step for Sperker will be taking office at a special meeting of the district council in November 2023, as reported in Krone.
It remains to be seen how the political landscape in Hietzing will develop under Johanna Sperker's leadership. The focus is not only on the internal structures of the ÖVP, but also on how we deal with citizens' concerns on a daily basis. She has decided to take the voices of Hietzingers seriously and to continue her fight for the district's livable future.