State election: MFG successor party “We are Salzburg” will compete
The former MFG national director and MFG Salzburg boss Gerhard Pöttler would like to start a new citizens’ movement in the Salzburg state elections on April 23, 2023. On Tuesday he and a group of comrades-in-arms presented the “We are Salzburg” list in Seekirchen (Flachgau).
The “WS Salzburg” should not only be a contact point for former MFG people, but also be extended to other federal states under the motto “We are XY – Together for Austria”.
Disappointment was the reason for founding a new party
“The main reason for the founding was the disappointment with the decline in values of MFG Austria and MFG Upper Austria,” explained Pöttler. “The focus was on power, greed for money and gaining personal advantage.” That is why he left the party at the end of September.
Almost the entire Salzburg regional group followed him, many of them are now back on board with the “WS Salzburg”. After leaving the MFG, Pöttler ruled out a return to politics. Now they will soon start in Tyrol and Upper Austria, and preparations are underway in Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland.
The new movement wants to clearly distinguish itself from existing parties and citizen lists, emphasized Chairman Pöttler, who did not skimp on buzzwords when presenting the “WS Salzburg”. “Authenticity, truthfulness, honesty and humanity are the flags”, wanting to pursue politics “from the bottom up” and “transparency” and “exemplify direct democracy”. “For us, all people are the same. There is no division, not even between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated.”
Movement will provide answers to regional problems
In addition to the core topics of regionality and (rural) economy, family and education, health care and social affairs, nature and animal protection, “We are Salzburg” also want to devote itself to the fight against inflation. Pöttler criticized the “lethargic attitude of the state government to the current wave of inflation” and called for the profits of state groups to be shared among customers or for VAT to be suspended on everyday items.
Incidentally, corona was hardly an issue at Tuesday’s press conference, only the excess mortality against the background of the corona pandemic is due to the consequences of the “genetically modified injections”.
As deputy chairman Engelbert Neubauer explained, the new movement was officially registered with the Ministry of the Interior on December 5th. “The national organization itself is in place, the board has been officially appointed and is supported by around 70 full members.”
It is expected that the number of 500 members will be reached in a short time. Values, goals and visions can already be found on the homepage, a party program is to follow after the turn of the year.
New party is looking for supporters
In order to stand in the Salzburg state elections, the WS Salzburg has to collect 600 declarations of support across the state. Depending on the size, between 80 and 120 signatures per district are required. Pöttler said today that the costs of a possible election campaign depend on donations, membership fees and supporters.