Political scientist says politicians fail to learn from mistakes

Politicians need to take mistakes seriously and show visible consequences, political scientist Kathrin Stainer-Hämmerle told ORF, after the conviction of Bludenz mayor Simon Tschann for abuse of office became final this week. Tschann intends to remain in office.

“We should see more of a culture of learning from mistakes, at least by taking measures to prevent such cases from happening again and signalling that compliance measures are being monitored more closely,” Stainer-Hämmerle said in an interview with ORF’s Vorarlberg Heute. “Politicians can learn, and they should learn, but we see too little evidence that they really are.”

The Supreme Court rejected Tschann’s appeal, leaving in place his conviction over a building procedure. The Innsbruck Higher Regional Court will decide the sentence.