Austrian town successfully revolts against federal government’s migrant tents

The mayor of the Austrian town of St. Georgen has staged a small but notable revolt against the federal government by ridding his town of 17 tents housing 136 migrants simply by declaring the tents a safety hazard after an inspection.

“There was danger ahead. I received an expert report on this last week,” said Mayor Ferdinand Aigner (ÖVP), whose town was forced to erect the tents and take on a significant number of migrants by the Federal Support Agency in the middle of October. Regarding the decision to declare the tents a safety hazard, he said, “I have to secure myself as mayor. There is no other way,” adding, “There are building code concerns. I’m looking to make sure people are safe.”

Since mid-October, 17 asylum tents in St. Georgen im Attergau (Vöcklabruck district) have sparked citizen protests. Aigner tried to defend his town against the temporary accommodation by calling the federal government and leading protests, but the government ignored him and the people of the town.

In November, building inspectors issued violations against the tents and an expert opinion declared them unsafe. He then finally got the government’s attention after he declared the tents a safety hazard, which allowed him to order all migrants out of the tents within three days and all tents dismantled within seven days.

Aigner said that the “mandate decision” would be sent to the responsible Federal Support Agency (BBU).