Candidate to the EGP Committee

Fellow colleagues, dear friends.

After all, I took the decision to offer the Europeans Greens my work force and political contribution as a member of the EGP committee.

My personal background:

I am an organic mountain farmer, forester and beekeeper in the very south of Austria and the very north of Slovenia (Region of Stajersca / Steiermark).
In direct marketing I sell milled wood, honey and several agricultural goods.
My three kids are 17 to 22 years old, the occupation by family work has decreased substantially.

My political background:

In the last seventeen years I contributed on many levels to green politics. As member of the national executive board, the Styrian regional executive board, local party boards, the regional and national party education academy (Grüne Akademie / Grüne Bildungswerkstatt) and
last but not least in my role as a green farmer building up the green famers association Austria. I was in charge in several election campaigns on local, regional, national and European level. For the last EP elections I ran on the forth place of the Austrian national list (we did three mandates).

On the European level I started 2004 at the founding of the EGP in Rome as a regional delegate. Since then I was more or less part of the Austrian delegation, the last seven years as a regular delegate.

Through my profession I specialised on questions around food, GMO, pesticides, antibiotics, regional and organic farming, soil, animal welfare, mass breeding and animal transportation, global food production, seeds, agro multinationals, faire trade, co2 emissions, ecologic forestry, water quality, nature protection and many more eco topics.

Beyond that my heart beats for the unique project of overcoming the narrow nationalistic view on the world by trying to united the regions of Europe, regions that since generations fought nearly any war in any combination you can imagine.

So, European politics, global trade, global governance, global treaties, global transportation of goods, global inequality and global peace are some of the topics and visions I contribute my timeshare to.

But, after all, I am a „realo“, concretely working on realistic goals, realistic options, realistic next steps.
I think through my direct contact to population, farmers, workers, marked customers, through my 15 years experience in campaigning (on the level Austrian Greens are known for) also on battlefields which aren't easy for Greens like the country side, the rural areas or within the workers class I can contribute to the work of EGP, to the task of framing our green politics in a way helping to reach new potential voters.

I am very motivated to contribute to the internal needs of EGP as well. Supporting the councils by leading working groups or CAS sessions or by proposing topics and speakers for the panels.

A central goal of mine is to support small green parties in the east and south of Europe in uniting their forces with different NGO or political groups or initiatives to build a strong alternative for our voters.

And, last but not least, I want to function as a bridge from and to Austrian Greens, trying to spread some of the expertise and experience we have as one of the most successful greens of Europe.

I am not going to stand for a mandate in the upcoming Austrian elections, my decision is to focus on the European work. So this EGP Committee mandate will get next to my role as the head of green farmers Austria the central focus of my political engagement.

I will be glad to gain your trust and support.

Thomas Waitz

Großwalz 9
A-8463 Leutschach an der Weinstrasse
0043 664 83 17 496
thomas.waitz@gruene.at - kurihof@aon.at