Kickl opponent's turn

Stocker: From second-tier man to party leader

Christian Stocker (right) after an ÖVP club meeting in October 2023. The declared opponent of Kickl could now lead the People's Party into talks with the FPÖ.

(Bild: picturedesk.com/GEORG HOCHMUTH / APA / picturedesk.com)

You could call the choice quite original. The ÖVP, which, despite months of announcements, could now offer itself to FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl as a junior partner, has just appointed General Secretary Christian Stocker as party leader, who for weeks had publicly advocated the credo: not with Kickl. But if new elections are to be avoided, there is probably only the blue way out. 

The fact that Stocker, from Lower Austria, is now in the running is also due to the fact that the People's Party has been unable to agree on a new strong leader for the time being.

Calm pole of the People's Party
Stocker had said on Saturday that a long-term solution would be sought on Sunday. The fact that he himself then becomes the short-term solution is something of a punch line. But then again, the choice is not entirely illogical. In a party where nervousness is higher than it has been for a long time, there is a need for a calming influence and no one embodies this role like Stocker.

As recently as September, Christian Stocker accompanied his then party leader Karl Nehammer in the election campaign. Now, as chairman, the Secretary General has to calm the crisis-ridden ÖVP.

(Bild: picturedesk.com/HELMUT FOHRINGER / APA / picturedesk.com)

Whether in committees of inquiry, TV discussions or at the lectern in the National Council, Stocker stands firm and lets attacks of all kinds roll off his back. He may not be the most brilliant rhetorician, but he always does a rock-solid job and has brought stability back to the ÖVP headquarters after the somewhat unconventional intermezzo with Laura Sachslehner. In view of the circumstances, the two national elections in 2024 were also passably beaten.

Attacks against Kickl
Of course, Stocker may not necessarily be the right person to send a friendly signal to the FPÖ. To name just one of dozens of similar-sounding quotes from Stocker: "Mr. Kickl, nobody wants you in this house. Nobody needs you in this republic either," he addressed the FP leader in parliament in December.

Personal details:

Christian Stocker, born on March 20, 1960 in Wiener Neustadt, primary and secondary school there, law studies in Vienna, law firm in his home town. City party chairman and Deputy Mayor of Wiener Neustadt from 2000, Member of the National Council since 2019. Secretary General of the ÖVP from fall 2022.

The lawyer has been in politics for a long time. In 2000, he became city party chairman, deputy mayor and the face of the ÖVP at neighborhood festivals in his home town of Wiener Neustadt - at a time when the second largest city in Lower Austria was still an SPÖ bastion. However, when the ÖVP formed a coalition against the Social Democrats in 2015 and took power in the city, it was not him who became mayor, but Klaus Schneeberger, ÖVP party leader in the provincial parliament.

In the National Council since 2019
After many years in local politics, Stocker only joined the National Council in 2019. His relationship with party leader Karl Nehammer, who has since stepped down, was already very good back then. Accordingly, he made him General Secretary in 2022. One of the reasons: Stocker knew the party and its structures inside out and was very well connected in the national and sub-organizations. This will probably also be the reason why he is being handed the reins right now. However, Stocker is unlikely to become a permanent solution at the top - rather the coordinator of the search process for the new party leadership.

In his private life, the 64-year-old is known to be married and the father of two grown-up children. His hobbies include fly fishing and playing the tenor saxophone.