Hardly any new members

Fußi effect in the SPÖ more than manageable

Fußi has big plans for his party - but does he really have enough support?

(Bild: APA/HANS KLAUS TECHT)

Last week, party rebel Rudi Fußi threw himself into the battle for the leadership of the SPÖ party with great enthusiasm - and then spoke just as enthusiastically about the broad support for him. According to initial figures, however, this is rather modest. 

He wants to completely overhaul the SPÖ and is even already making demands for possible government negotiations. Rudi Fußi sees the broad base of people behind him in his ambitions to wrest the seat from the incumbent party leader Andreas Babler.

After the SPÖ's rather mixed results in the European, National Council and regional elections in Vorarlberg, the SPÖ is more or less treading water. Although Fußi sees Babler as a "great social democrat", he seems convinced that he can do the job better. After his keynote speech last week, he started on Wednesday with a focus on asylum and migration.

What Fußi says he is aware of is that he needs 14,000 signatures to be able to challenge Babler in a direct election. This also requires the backing of the party - especially the regional organizations.

What's the story behind the "many party memberships"?
"There are a lot of new members joining the party. Exciting people who have never voted for the SPÖ before," the self-proclaimed "New Red" cheered on the short message service X (formerly Twitter) on Monday. Without, however, providing any proof of this.

130 new members, but not just because of Fußi
The party headquarters therefore has to help out: An inquiry by krone.at reveals that the rush of new members due to the Fußi initiative is rather lacking. Within the first week, the SPÖ "counted around 130 new members", it says - but a membership campaign is also currently underway, so it is not at all clear why the new members have actually joined. "Regardless of Rudi Fußi and our membership campaign, people regularly join the party," says a spokesperson.

If not among new members, a movement could also become apparent through letters from existing members. But here, too, the employees at the party headquarters have not recorded "any major anomalies". Nevertheless, Fußi himself claims to have received 1,200 emails "from all parts of the country" declaring his support within a day of his call to the duel; however, this cannot be verified.

"For every one who leaves, many more will follow"
What is clear, however, is that the party rebel is nowhere near the enormous surge of new party members that Andreas Babler's candidacy triggered last year. There are even threats on social media that he will leave the party again if he takes over the party leadership.

Dedicate another nice Karl Seitz quote to the critics: "You're not even up to my ankles"

Rudi Fußi teilt auf X (vormals Twitter) aus.

"For everyone who leaves, many more will join, the balance will be very positive," replied Fußi and added: "then they weren't right in the SPÖ. Rather with communists or other fun parties and substitute sects."