First communist Mayor set to head Austrian city

About two months after the sensational victory of the Communist Party of Austria (KPOe) in the local elections in the southern Austrian city of Graz, the new mayor is to be elected on Wednesday. The city council plans to meet late in the morning. The election of 60-year-old Elke Kahr was considered certain. Kahr would be the first communist to head a major Austrian city.

The KPOe leads an alliance with the Greens and the Social Democratic Party (SPOe) in Graz. One of the most important topics of the joint programme for the next five years was housing policy. For example, more municipal housing was to be built. The Communists have been an important political force at the local level in Austria for decades.

With 29 per cent, the KPOe outperformed the previously ruling conservative Austrian People's Party (OeVP) and long-time mayor Siegfried Nagl in the local elections at the end of September.