The election campaign for the National Council has only just begun, but SPÖ leader Andreas Babler is plagued by scandals within the party. In Graz, which is tough for the Social Democrats, he still expects a “sensational result”.
Andreas Babler is not lacking in fame. “Is that the Babler?” asks a stallholder on Saturday afternoon at Lendplatz in Graz, as he sticks his head out into the crowd. The SPÖ leader hands out brochures, lighters and pens, and he wears two red friendship bracelets on his wrist: one says “Andi Babler” and the other “Heart X Brain”.
The officials had to wait for Babler on the hot Lendplatz for almost an hour and a half on Saturday before the camper rolled up with his face on it. There is tension in the air; this is not how you imagined the start of the election campaign. After the mendacious affair surrounding Linz Mayor Klaus Luger, it was announced on Friday evening that Doris Bures, the second chairwoman of the SPÖ National Council, expressed “suspicion of a lack of seriousness” in a letter about Babler’s election program.
Styrian officials stand behind Babler
“The program is certainly not unserious,” says club boss Hannes Schwarz and supports the top candidate. “It has been discussed before.” State Councilor and SPÖ Graz leader Doris Kampus also has no understanding for such accusations. “Doris Bures surprises me, and I can’t understand that either.” The party program has “controversial points” – such as the reduction of working hours – but is certainly not unserious. Postscript: “Apparently there is still a problem with unity in the party.”
And Babler himself? What does he say about Bures’ letter and its publication? Not much. “I can understand that there is now dissatisfaction and lack of understanding. We are in an internal coordination process. That is why I do not want to say more about it yet.”
The first place must be achieved in Graz
Instead, the former mayor of Traiskirchen is pleased with the great response from Styria. “We were in Kindberg and Kapfenberg, where I felt the enthusiasm of the people.” And Graz, which is definitely a difficult place for the SPÖ in terms of local politics? “I am well received here, we were number one in the EU elections” – with 21 percent of the vote – “and we are definitely going to achieve a sensational result here.”
The cooperation with the Styrian SPÖ leader Anton Lang is “good”. And that despite Lang recently telling the media in Vienna that we should move more towards the political centre? “I come into the middle of society. The Social Democrats have a programme that works”, says Babler. The ÖVP, on the other hand, is concerned with ‘a race of inhumanity in migration policy’, and Herbert Kickl wants to ‘eliminate democracy’ with the FPÖ.
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.
