Ombudsman reviews disputed Bludenz city police appointment
Sunday 16th August 2026 on 16:00 in
Austria
A state ombudsman is examining whether a candidate was disadvantaged in the appointment of Bludenz’s city police chief, ORF Vorarlberg reports. The previous interim head, Sonja Berchtold-Niedermesser, applied for the post but was passed over.
Walter Bitschnau is due to take command of the Bludenz city police in two weeks. Berchtold-Niedermesser has contacted Vorarlberg State Ombudsman Klaus Feurstein, who confirmed to the newspaper Neue am Sonntag that he was reviewing the case.
Berchtold-Niedermesser has worked for Bludenz city police since 1991. She became deputy commander in 2022 and has led the department since 2025. The 54-year-old believes she may have been disadvantaged both because she is a woman and because of her political past.
In 2020, she stood on the SPÖ list of Mario Leiter, who twice lost elections for mayor to incumbent ÖVP mayor Simon Tschann. Berchtold-Niedermesser served one term as an SPÖ member of the city council.
The vacancy was advertised as requiring several years of police service and management experience, as well as experience preparing and processing regulations and official decisions. Berchtold-Niedermesser has these qualifications, according to the report.
Her rival, federal police officer Bitschnau, has taught at the police academy for almost 10 years. He listed his experience as an incident commander at major events as management experience. Bludenz city authorities nevertheless said he met the requirements.
The city council ultimately voted for Bitschnau with the support of the ÖVP and FPÖ. City authorities rejected claims that Berchtold-Niedermesser’s gender or political past influenced the decision. They also said Tschann had not made the decision alone but had involved the city council.
According to Neue am Sonntag, Berchtold-Niedermesser learned of her declining chances before the final decision and responded with a strongly worded letter from a lawyer to Tschann. The report said that letter may also have influenced the decision-making process.