Andreas Babler was re-elected as leader of the SPÖ at a party conference in Graz with 88.76 percent of the delegates’ votes. “What a great result. What a cool party we are,” he applauded the result in a tearful voice (see video above). It is not about the party or about him, but about more justice: “We will change the country for the better. Kick-off!”
By comparison, Pamela Rendi-Wagner only impressed more than 75 percent when she last took office two years ago.
92 percent for Bures
The rest of the party leadership and Babler’s deputies were also elected, with wide approval: women’s leader Eva-Maria Holzleitner received around 97.3 percent. Vice club boss Julia Herr came up with 94.4 percent. Carinthia’s governor, Peter Kaiser, received 98.5 percent. The outcome was eagerly awaited for Doris Bures, President of the Second National Council, a representative of the regional organization in Vienna. The mayor of Vienna, Michael Ludwig, decided not to run for office. But Bures got 92 percent.
The SPÖ federal party conference in Graz to read.
Worst result for Dornauer
Verena Dunst of the unruly state party Burgenland – governor Hans Peter Doskozil did not want to run for office again – received 94.6 percent. SPÖ leader Sven Hergovich from Lower Austria achieved 93.7 percent. Upper Austrian party leader Michael Lindner received 96.9 percent, Styrian SPÖ leader Anton Lang received 97.8 percent. Christoph Matznetter, also a Viennese comrade, was elected treasurer with 92.8 percent. His deputy is Michaela Schmidt from Salzburg with 98.1 percent. Tyrolean SPÖ leader Georg Dornauer achieved the worst result with 87.4 percent, his deputy secretary is Stefanie Matei from Vorarlberg with 98.6 percent. This means that all states with voting rights are represented on the board of directors.
Babler was able to claim another success because the planned organizational reform was adopted with a very large majority. It allows for a binding membership survey if there is more than one candidate for party leadership. Only a large part of the Viennese delegates did not support the initiative.
Babler positions itself as an alternative to Kickl
In his application speech to almost 600 delegates and 400 guests at the Graz trade fair, Babler positioned his party as the only alternative to Chancellor Herbert Kickl (FPÖ). The old and new chairman spoke for an hour in his own style, fast, loud and without fear of pathos. His assessment so far after “five extraordinary months” with 16,000 new members was, as expected, positive: “We have achieved leadership on this issue.” Because we are now a social democracy that once again shows a clear lead, it speaks a clear language and is not afraid of anything or anyone.
“We turn the game around”
Nevertheless, not everything is perfect in Babler’s assessment: “We will have to gain breadth,” he told his comrades, even though the content of his speech was clearly left-wing. In any case, the next elections are still up for grabs for the party leader: “We are running the race.” The SPÖ is the only force that can stop Chancellor Herbert Kickl (FPÖ) and the “black-blue wrecking balls”. It will be a guiding decision between ‘human-friendly’ and ‘human-hostile’.
Babler also focused on the ÖVP’s ‘elbow technique’.
Babler continuously attacked the ÖVP’s “elbow policy”, condemned companies, Rene Benko and the opinions of experts and commentators who rejected his politics. In the wage negotiations, but not only there, the SPÖ leader took the side of the union members: “Party and union, union and party – one piece.”
In terms of content, Babler quickly ticked off the twelve most important motions that would later be decided by the delegates. This includes a job guarantee for the unemployed, but also a reintroduction of the Hackler scheme without deductions or a guarantee of shorter waiting times for specialists.
Not everyone appreciated the promoted reduction in working hours
The long-promoted shortening of working hours is only presented as a pilot in the application form at the party congress – for Babler there are no indications that this will change: “We will provide concrete evidence of what a shortening of working hours entails. Not everyone appreciated the initiative. A representative of the Lower Austrian Municipal Association said he would have to fire an employee if it were introduced, but Burgenland’s delegation all abstained. A higher minimum wage should be a priority, it was said.
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.
