What do you prefer for Südtirol (South Tyrol) ?

[Tender Branson]

With the state election coming up on Sunday, what are your thoughts ?

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=168241.0

[Tender Branson]

The people should decide.

Also, I don't think a merger with Switzerland would make a whole lot of sense politically, culturally and linguistically speaking; Austria seems much more suitable in this respect. If there's an Austrian region that should join Switzerland it's Vorarlberg.

If the people give the SVP another absolute majority today, it's kinda like "the people decided". For the status quo.

Merging Südtirol with Switzerland would look pretty weird. Südtirol would be some sort of Schweizer Blinddarm (Swiss vermiform appendix) ...

[Tender Branson]

I really don't see any reason for South Tyrol not to rejoin Austria.

For one, I don't think that Austria will be prepared to give them the same generous benefits as Italy does. Also, South Tyrol has a substantial Italian and Ladin, which would be strongly against South Tyrol joining Austria, which could cause substantial problems. Note that the Italians are actually a majority in Bozen, the capital of South Tyrol and which is quite close to the southern border of the province. The South Tyrolians might find themselves without their capital if they attempt this...

Possible compromise: Cut off South Tyrol just north of Bozen, give Bozen and suburbs to Trentino and merge the rest of South Tyrol with North and East Tyrol as one new state of Austria with Innsbruck as the capital.

But ... would Austria even want South Tyrol back these days ?

Maybe a sizeable amount in the general population but I'll doubt you'll find more than a handful of politicians within the SPÖ or ÖVP that support it ...

[Tender Branson]

I really don't see any reason for South Tyrol not to rejoin Austria.

For one, I don't think that Austria will be prepared to give them the same generous benefits as Italy does. Also, South Tyrol has a substantial Italian and Ladin, which would be strongly against South Tyrol joining Austria, which could cause substantial problems. Note that the Italians are actually a majority in Bozen, the capital of South Tyrol and which is quite close to the southern border of the province. The South Tyrolians might find themselves without their capital if they attempt this...

Possible compromise: Cut off South Tyrol just north of Bozen, give Bozen and suburbs to Trentino and merge the rest of South Tyrol with North and East Tyrol as one new state of Austria with Innsbruck as the capital.

But ... would Austria even want South Tyrol back these days ?

Maybe a sizeable amount in the general population but I'll doubt you'll find more than a handful of politicians within the SPÖ or ÖVP that support it ...

That's probably because it is currently completely unrealistic. But if it becomes plausible, lots of supporters will suddenly appear.

Not within the SPÖ though for obvious (electoral) reasons.

Just look at the ÖVP vs. SPÖ result in Tyrol a month ago ...