At the beginning of the year, the leaders of the Social Democrats showed an extra dose of optimism. During a retreat in Klagenfurt, the SPÖ presidency also addressed specific issues such as inflation, education, health and care on Thursday. There is also attention for migration – a subject that repeatedly causes discussions within the party. However, a turnaround in line with the controversial Burgenland governor Hans Peter Doskozil is not to be expected.
The location for the meeting must not have been chosen by chance, because there are state elections in Carinthia on 5 March. Under the motto “Social policy for Austria”, the executive committee has been discussing central challenges and tasks since Wednesday. At the invitation of SPÖ leader Pamela Rendi-Wagner, migration expert Gerald Knaus, author and chair of the think tank “European Stability Initiative – ESI”, gave a presentation on migration and flight in Europe.
Doskozil no longer in the Presidium
In any case, more restrictive approaches in the asylum system should not have been discussed in detail during the retreat – after all, Doskozil has not been a member of the Executive Committee since 2021 at his own request. The call of Michael Lindner, the head of state of the SPÖ in Upper Austria, in the “ZiB Nacht” to reinstate the Burgenlander in the committees should therefore remain rather ineffective. And Doskozil’s substantive supporter, the SP boss of Salzburg, David Egger, was not present in Klagenfurt for personal reasons.
Apart from the internal quarrels with Doskozil, which have been going on for a long time now, the SPÖ has good reason to be optimistic about the new year. The party is doing well on Sunday and is in a head-to-head race with the FPÖ for the strongest power in the National Council. The SPÖ emphasizes that this is – at least not exclusively – due to the weakness of the governing party ÖVP. On the contrary, they work consistently to put factual issues in the foreground, which was forced in the exam.
Carinthian SPÖ remains optimistic
A joint press conference with Rendi-Wagner and state party chairmen and state governors Peter Kaiser (Carinthia) and Michael Ludwig (Vienna) is scheduled at the end of the executive committee meeting on Thursday. In the southernmost state there are state elections on March 5, in which Kaiser’s party will probably hold its own despite predicted losses.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
