Graz city candidates focus on safety, debt reduction and service reforms

During a cast‑safety themed pitch on the Schlossberg tram, KFG candidate Claudia Schönbacher highlighted that many women feel unsafe in Graz after dark, called for the reinstatement of a “home‑way phone” and urged more transparent, affordable public transport and housing. She stressed the need to curb municipal debt, cut spending on prestige projects and prioritize family‑friendly services, especially early‑childcare and transparent municipal housing allocation.

At a separate press conference, the NEOS party presented its "New Courage for Graz" program. The agenda calls for halving administrative costs through digitalisation and artificial‑intelligence tools, redirecting the savings into guaranteed childcare places, language support in schools, and an expanded S‑Bahn network. The party also proposes direct election of district heads, regular citizen assemblies, stricter cost‑benefit analysis for public funding, measures to ease traffic for residents, and reforms to boost the local economy by reducing bureaucracy and supporting businesses.

Both presentations frame the upcoming municipal election around improving public safety, reducing the city's debt burden, and reallocating resources toward essential services and future‑oriented infrastructure.