Firewall against the FPÖ

After 38 years: Will the SPÖ’s Vranitzky Doctrine fall?

A blue-red coalition is currently being hotly debated in Styria. Has this made the Vranitzky Doctrine of 1986, which rules out cooperation with the Freedom Party, obsolete?

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/APA)

While SPÖ federal party leader Andreas Babler sees himself as a "firewall against the FPÖ", the calls for blue-red in Styria are getting louder and louder. A tightrope walk for the comrades, as the Vranitzky Doctrine of 1986, which rules out cooperation with the FPÖ - at least at federal level - is still in place. However, even the man who gave the party its name now considers this exclusion to be outdated. 

The former SPÖ Chancellor Franz Vranitzky (his era lasted from June 1986 to January 1997), who gave his name to the Vranitzky Doctrine, recently caused a domestic political sensation in an interview with the "Standard". In his opinion, the red state parties should be allowed to decide autonomously on their government alliances. He had already been of this opinion in the past. 

1986: The beginning of Franz Vranitzky's chancellorship (8SPÖ) coincided with the rise of Jörg Haider's blue party.

(Bild: APA)

Vranitzky on the doctrine: "Many things are no longer applicable today" 
So the doctrine is now obsolete? "A lot of things from back then are no longer applicable today," emphasized Vranitzky. Back then, the political conditions were different and the main issue was the then FPÖ leader Jörg Haider and his sometimes far-right views. In the interview, Vranitzky did not say whether the SPÖ should also cooperate with the Blue Party at federal level in future.

At the time, the SPÖ had a sufficient majority and the issue was Jörg Haider, who had not sufficiently separated himself from National Socialist ideas.

Franz Vranitzky über die 1986 ins Leben gerufene Vranitzky-Doktrin

Either way, Babler's red firewall against the FPÖ is crumbling more and more. More and more Styrian SPÖ mayors are calling for a pact with the blue party at state level. "Sometimes a paradigm shift is necessary, even if it hurts," said Leoben's mayor Kurt Wallner.

Sometimes a paradigm shift is necessary, even if it hurts.

Leobens Bürgermeister Kurt Wallner (SPÖ)

SPÖ veteran: "Vranitzky doctrine made the blue party great"
Immediately after the National Council elections, SPÖ veteran Hannes Androsch called for a rethink within the party in its dealings with the Freedom Party. According to him, the Vranitzky doctrine had made the blue party great. Former Chancellor Bruno Kreisky had already said that it was a "serious historical mistake". Because the ÖVP always had two options, the SPÖ only one. Since the 1970s, the SPÖ has lost almost 600,000 members, Androsch noted. There must therefore be an "upward movement" again. Talks with all parties are important in order to "discuss upcoming challenges". Interesting: Androsch also spoke out against a coalition of ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS at federal level.

Since the 1970s, the SPÖ has lost almost 600,000 members, Androsch noted. There must therefore be an "upward movement" again.

Hannes Androsch

Babler now under even more pressure
The loud calls for a red rapprochement with the FPÖ are putting SPÖ federal leader Andreas Babler under pressure. During the national election campaign, he repeatedly showed a strong edge towards the Freedom Party. As a representative of the left wing of the SPÖ, he ruled out cooperation with the FPÖ at federal level for ideological reasons. He would also "not be happy" about a possible blue-red alliance in Styria, but he would not intervene either. This is because he has no right of intervention, as he emphasized this week. He would therefore "take note of the political will". Nevertheless, it is currently difficult to imagine that the Vranitzky Doctrine will be officially replaced under Babler.

The SPÖ is the firewall against FPÖ participation in government. I will not let people like Herbert Kickl and his party shoot up our republic.

Andreas Babler im NR-Wahlkampf 2024

SPÖ values compass defines conditions
In 2017, under SPÖ Chancellor Christian Kern, a list of criteria was drawn up that clearly defines the conditions for cooperation with the SPÖ. Kern's successor Pamela Rendi-Wagner replaced this with the "Compass of Values" just one year later. A possible agreement with the FPÖ is not categorically ruled out, as long as the FPÖ moves within the values compass.

Currently, no SPÖ heavyweight warns against the FPÖ as much as Babler. With his firewall against the Freedom Party, he is strongly reminiscent of the former Mayor of Vienna, Michael Häupl. The FPÖ "only has freedom in its name, nothing more", he emphasized at the 2021 provincial party conference. Häupl issued an urgent warning to those people within his own party who thought it would be easier to deal with the FPÖ. The FPÖ is "even worse than you think."

Hot discussions on the net
The red party's policy of exclusion is also the subject of heated debate on social media. Red sympathizers are questioning the Vranitzky doctrine in the Facebook group "SPÖ Mitmachpartei: Gemeinsam für ein progressives Österreich" (see post below).

(Bild: Screenshot/Facebook.com)

Last year, FPÖ leader Herber Kickl demanded that the SPÖ ask its members about the exclusion of the FPÖ.

Be that as it may: should the SPÖ and FPÖ actually come together in Styria, it would not be a first anyway. There was already a red-blue coalition at federal level between 1983 and 1986 under Chancellor Fred Sinowatz. His successor, Franz Vranitzky, ended the cooperation in September 1986 after FPÖ leader Norbert Steger was overthrown by Jörg Haider. Since then, the Vranitzky Doctrine has applied in the SPÖ.

Two red-blue alliances at state level since the doctrine
At state level, however, there was also red-blue cooperation afterwards. In 2004, Carinthia's SPÖ leader Peter Ambrozy entered into an alliance with Jörg Haider's FPÖ as a junior partner. The coalition, which was highly controversial within the SPÖ, was sealed in the early hours of March 13 in a Klagenfurt hotel with Italian red wine, earning it the nickname "Chianti Coalition". It lasted until 2006.

(Bild: APA/Gert Eggenberger)

Five years of red-blue in Burgenland
Between 2015 and 2020, there was a red-blue coalition in Burgenland. This coalition was also polarizing. It was decided by the then governor Hans Niessl and FPÖ state leader Hans Tschürtz; in February 2019, Niessl handed over to Hans Peter Doskozil. For the red-blue supporters, the coalition was a prime example, while the left-wingers in the party fought against it.

February 2019: Doskozil handshake with coalition partner Johann Tschürtz (FPÖ)

(Bild: APA/ROBERT JAEGER)

The SPÖ has governed alone since 2020, but the situation could change again in the upcoming state elections in January 2025. If the SPÖ loses the absolute, a red-blue coalition between Doskozil and the former Third President of the National Council Norbert Hofer (FPÖ) seems very realistic. 

Ideological principles vs. political reality
Incidentally, the SPÖ Burgenland showed in 2014 just how much ideological principles are overtaken by political reality. At the time, the Young Generation tabled a motion in which the FPÖ was described as an "extreme right-wing party" that a social democratic party should "under no circumstances" get involved with. This was their "anti-fascist duty". The party conference resolution was passed accordingly: "The SPÖ clearly opposes a coalition with the FPÖ at all political levels." This was followed by red-blue cooperation in 2015 ...