"Krone" commentary

Weak alliance against Kickl

Analyzes for the "Krone": domestic policy expert Claus Pándi

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe.com, Krone KREATIV)

This is bitter for the SPÖ. In Styria, the SPÖ is kindly offering itself as a partner to the Freedom Party, while the Blue Party ignores the somewhat intrusive courtship and, after a short period of reflection, rejects the Social Democrats outright.

For the former Labor Party, the Styrian basket could have been one of the most politically momentous humiliations. Here are just the three most obvious findings from the latest red disaster:

1. the SPÖ willingly allowed itself to be shown up in Graz and demonstrated that its principles when it comes to choosing partners are not particularly far off when it comes to potential participation in power.

2) From now on, the SPÖ can no longer blame the ÖVP for any further coalitions with the Freedom Party, which it supposedly demonizes. Even if the Styrian FPÖ leader Mario Kunasek is a friendlier and more pleasant person than Herbert Kickl, they are still cut from the same cloth.

3) The authority of SPÖ leader Andreas Babler has once again been damaged. The comrades in Styria have publicly and quite bluntly let Babler know what they think of his ideas on the choice of political partners and other issues.

After this weakening, the Vienna alliance planned under the patronage of Federal President Van der Bellen against Kickl with Karl Nehammer, Babler and Meinl-Reisinger is already looking like a lost cause.