To Babler and Katzian – order from Ludwig: “No foul language”

Party leader Babler recently described the ‘Austria Plan’ and the accompanying speech by Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) as ‘screwing’. In any case, there have been some strong statements from ÖGB boss Katzian. The election campaign is ‘pointy’, says Ludwig in the ‘profile’ interview, ‘but you always have to be careful not to burn bridges that you still need after the elections.’

A matter of credibility
You should not ‘get lost in party political bickering’, was the appeal of the mayor of Vienna. A “certain basis of trust between the democratic parties” will be necessary when it comes to coalitions. “It is therefore important not to burn all bridges before the elections, but also to think about where there may be opportunities for compromise.” It is also about credibility: ‘No one should rule out coalitions and start working on them after the elections.’

Asked whether it was a mistake for Babler to rule out a coalition with the ÖVP if it was against wealth taxes, Ludwig emphasized: “The SPÖ only rules out a coalition with the FPÖ.”

Chance of first place “upright”
Although the Freedom Party has clearly been leading in the polls for months, Ludwig was convinced that the SPÖ had a “sustainable” chance of coming first in the National Council elections. “But we must act together to achieve this. There was room for improvement last year.’ Ludwig assured that he would certainly make his contribution to unity – ‘because the opponents of the SPÖ are not in his own party.’