You can certainly call the choice original. The ÖVP, which, contrary to months of announcements, could now offer itself as a junior partner to FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl, has appointed Secretary General Christian Stocker as party leader, who has been publicly defending the credo for weeks: not with Kickl. But if you want to avoid new elections, the only option is the blue one.
The fact that Stocker from Lower Austria is now in the spotlight is also due to the fact that the People’s Party has not yet been able to agree on a new, strong leadership figure.
Quiet pool of the People’s Party
Stocker said Saturday they would look for a long-term solution on Sunday. It is a given that he himself will then become the short-term solution. But the choice is not entirely illogical. At a party where nervousness has never been greater, a calm pole is needed and probably no one embodies this role better than Stocker.
Whether in investigative committees, TV discussions or at the lectern in the National Council: Stocker stands stable and calmly lets attacks of any kind roll away. He may not be the most brilliant orator, but he always delivers strong work and has given the ÖVP headquarters stability again after the somewhat idiosyncratic intermezzo with Laura Sachslehner. Considering the circumstances, the two 2024 federal elections were also fairly defeated.
Attacks against Kickl
Of course, Stocker may not necessarily be the right person when it comes to sending a friendly signal to the FPÖ. To name just one of dozens of similar quotes from Stocker: “Mr. Kickl, no one wants you in this house. No one needs you in this republic either,” he addressed the FP chairman in parliament in December.
The lawyer has been active in politics for some time. In 2000, he became chairman of the city party, deputy mayor and ÖVP face in Grätzlfesten in his home municipality of Wiener Neustadt – at a time when the second largest city in Lower Austria was still an SPÖ stronghold. When the ÖVP formed a coalition against the Social Democrats in 2015 and took power in the city, it was not he who became mayor, but Klaus Schneeberger, ÖVP club leader in the state parliament.
Member of the National Council since 2019
After many years in local politics, Stocker only came to the National Council in 2019. His relationship with the now resigned party leader Karl Nehammer was already very good at the time. Accordingly, he appointed him Secretary General in 2022. One of the reasons: Stocker knows the party and its structures inside and out and has good connections in the state and sub-organizations. That will probably also be the reason why the reins are now being handed over to him. But Stocker is unlikely to be a permanent solution at the top; more likely he will be the coordinator of the search process for the new party leadership.
Privately, we know that the 64-year-old is married and has two adult children. His hobbies include fly fishing and playing the tenor saxophone.
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.
