Does the mayor of Linz have too much power?

As mayor of Linz, Klaus Luger was the sole representative of the owners for all the limited liability companies outsourced by the city of Linz, with the exception of Linz AG. Luger was therefore also able to decide on the employment contracts of the Brucknerhaus management – including that of Dietmar Kerschbaum. Luger was also chairman of several supervisory boards, including the Linzer Veranstaltungsgesellschaft (LIVA). In the wake of the Brucknerhaus scandal, LIVA supervisory board members stated that Luger had refused to allow them to see Kerschbaum’s employment contract. Luger himself denied this and called it an “untruth”.

Now some city politicians have already questioned the comprehensive powers of the mayor of Linz – Tips wanted to know from all seven mayoral candidates whether the position entails too much power and how a “Causa Luger” could be prevented in the future.

Deputy Mayor Martin Hajart (ÖVP): “More control rights are needed”

“I think, first and foremost, it’s about the standard of how you hold office. It requires honesty and integrity. Abuse of power can always happen. And secondly, yes, you have to question certain aspects of power. Something in relation to the ownership powers that a mayor has. And of course you also need more control rights, especially in the outsourced companies, as well as stricter reporting requirements. If only one person is informed and only one person can decide, that is vulnerable to abuse of power.”

The Linz VP also announced a municipal council motion to “hold a current affairs hour on the topic of ‘abuse of power in the city of Linz’”.

City Councillor Dietmar Prammer (SPÖ): “Little sole decision-making power compared to members of the state government”

“The office of mayor is associated with numerous functions and tasks in all municipalities in Upper Austria, which have essentially been defined by the legislature. The fact that the mayor is the only elected direct representative of the interests of the municipal population in many committees and companies as well as in relation to other local authorities may seem like a lot of power. In fact, the responsibilities of the municipal council and the city senate are much greater, and despite the high level of responsibility, the mayor’s sole decision-making power is low, even compared to a member of the state government. Whether and how human error can be completely ruled out in the future will be discussed with experts.”

City Councillor Michael Raml (FPÖ): “Share power and distribute it clearly”

“I believe that Linz now really has a very big and rare chance for a fresh start. And it (the LIVA affair, note) also shows that we have to critically question every old structure in the administration and also in the corporate group. It has become clear that in the city of Linz the mayor’s power is very, very great. The highest body is the municipal council, which is made up of 61 different representatives. To prevent something like this from happening again, my aim is for the municipal council to have more control options, but also more steering options, including with regard to the corporate group of the city of Linz. If you divide up the power or distribute it clearly, then that is the best way to prevent something like this from happening again.”

City Councillor Eva Schobesberger (Greens): “Examine structures”

City councilor Eva Schobesberger has announced a motion in the municipal council with the aim of examining municipal holding structures: “This construct gives one person a lot of power – namely the owner’s representative, i.e. the mayor,” said Schobesberger. This circumstance made the Luger case possible in the first place. You have to look at the holding structure and “check each company individually to see whether a company makes sense for it.”

Municipal councillor Georg Redlhammer (NEOS): “The council’s teeth of control have been pulled out”

“The Luger case has shown that a mayor can abuse his power.” The holding structure has removed the teeth of control from the local council. The mayor must also be controlled. We are at the beginning of the investigation and work on reforms. Something new and better will emerge from the chaos.”

Municipal councillor Lorenz Potocnik (LinzPlus): “Municipal council needs more control options”

“I think it’s the other way around. The local council – after all, the officially highest body – has been deprived of a lot of power and decision-making power under the pretext of tax-saving measures. The billions are being implemented via the holding company and the outsourced companies. That’s where it happens. Only the city senate parties send their supervisory boards. What one can think of them is regularly shown. The opposition does not even have the right to ask questions here. That’s where we need to start. The holding company is like a parallel universe. The local council needs more control options here.

Then we need a fully-fledged city audit office. The audit office is too close to everything, it is more about advice and help with organizational development. The reports should all be made public, just like the state audit office. And then we also need integrity.”

Municipal councillor Gerlinde Grünn (KPÖ): “The concentration of power needs control”

Municipal councillor Gerlinde Grünn (KPÖ): “The KPÖ has long advocated an upgrade of the municipal council.” The concentration of power among decision-makers needs control in order to prevent arbitrary actions and secrecy. This applies particularly to the mayor’s office, but also to the chairmen of the supervisory board. The municipal council’s control rights must be extended to the city’s companies and the control office reports must be publicly accessible.”