On 10 June, a new coalition government in Vienna comprising of ALDE Party member NEOS and the Austrian social democrats was officially sworn in.
A record ten NEOS members, including group leader Selma Arapović, took office as City Councillors in a constitutive ceremony in Vienna’s City Hall.
In April’s state election, Austrian liberals increased their support to 10% of the popular vote and secured 10 seats in Vienna’s City Council, two more than the last election in 2020.
Bettina Emmerling was confirmed in her role as Deputy Mayor of Vienna and will continue to be responsible for the education department, as well as the areas of youth, integration and transparency.
Arapović and Emmerling, both alumnae of the Alliance Of Her Academy, will continue to steer NEOS’ work in the Austrian capital after five highly successful years in government where 97% of projects in the government programme were implemented.
Members of NEOS’ Vienna branch met on 7 June at the party’s state congress meeting, voting in favour of participating in the government and approving the government programme with a support of 81.9%.
"Today we received approval to continue our honest work for Vienna. Vienna needs a boost – and we, NEOS, are the guarantors that things will move forward in the areas of education, the economy, and transparency," said Christoph Wiederkehr, NEOS spokesperson for Vienna and Federal Minister of Education.
The government programme, entitled Aufschwungskoalition (“Coalition for recovery”) contains a number of proposals to ensure Vienna can react to crises and shape its own future with optimism.
In particular, NEOS aim to establish German as a common language in Viennese schools, a clear commitment for the city to become carbon neutral by 2040, installing 400,000 square metres of new green spaces and streamlined administrative processes to create more space for local businesses.
Photo: NEOS