Dispute in the parties

The SPÖ is threatened by a war for posts, NEOS also have doubts

Is this where Austria's political future lies?

(Bild: MAX SLOVENCIK/APA/picturedesk.com)

A possible coalition between the ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS still has to be approved by some party committees. This is precisely where the hurdles are high. Among the Social Democrats, there are also signs of a small-scale war over top posts.

The SPÖ is trying to take its top staff with it on the last few meters of the coalition negotiations. A presidium is scheduled for Tuesday evening, in which party leader Andreas Babler will explain the status of negotiations and the almost finalized coalition agreement.

More explosive in the background is a small war that has broken out over the posts to be filled, as several media outlets from the SPÖ environment have confirmed. This is because there are differing views on who should take over the ministerial posts. Only two things are actually fixed in the red team: Eva Maria Holzleitner, head of the women's affairs department, is to take over the women's ministry and ÖGB vice-president Korinna Schumann is to take over the social affairs ministry following the early rejection of GPA head Barbara Teiber.

What will Andreas Babler do in future?
It is of course clear that party leader Andreas Babler will become Vice-Chancellor. However, it is not yet clear what functions he will also take on. The last rumor was that he could head the powerful but time-consuming infrastructure department.

This would mean that there would no longer be any room for the head of Lower Austria, Sven Hergovich, with whom Babler is anything but friends, but who enjoys the strong support of the Third President of the National Council, Doris Bures. ÖBB manager Silvia Angelo, who comes from the ÖGB, is also being discussed as an alternative to Babler himself.

Question marks also over finance and justice
If the party leader himself were to take over, the cultural and media agendas would become free, which could then be offered to former ORF boss Alexander Wrabetz. However, he is the candidate of the powerful Vienna City Party for the finance portfolio.

Wrabetz is to take over an important post in the Zuckerl government.

(Bild: GEPA)

But Babler has other plans here too and wants to install a confidante in this central position, namely Michaela Schmidt, a member of the National Council from Salzburg. Although she is regarded as highly competent, she does not necessarily have the best reputation among the ÖVP and NEOS.

This is all the more true for another of Batler's favorites. Former State Secretary for Integration Muna Duzdar is said to be in the running for the justice portfolio. Although this Babler supporter from the very beginning is Viennese, her standing in the city party is so poor that she has not even been offered a promising seat in the National Council elections. In addition, the lawyer has already made negative headlines with a controversial post about the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, when she openly blamed NATO for the situation.

It is still difficult to predict who the names on the red list of ministers will ultimately be. It is also unlikely that a preliminary decision will be made at the executive committee meeting. Ultimately, the party leader will probably find it difficult to get all his proposals through without breaking too much china. Officially, none of the names have been mentioned yet.

Major hurdles for the NEOS too
The pink members' meeting will take place next Sunday in the Ballonhalle at the Arsenal in Vienna, where digital participation is also possible for the approximately 3,000 members. According to the party statutes, the coalition agreement must be approved by a two-thirds majority at the general meeting; a simple majority of the grassroots is not enough.

Within the party, many members are skeptical of government participation. A "business as usual" approach is criticized: "We have an offer with two ministries and a state secretariat, but I miss the reforms. The NEOS stand for reforms, not jobs," criticized Tyrolean Pinken MP Dominik Oberhofer recently in the "Krone" newspaper. Many would prefer to go into opposition - including "issue partnerships". 

The content of the meeting will be prepared by the extended federal party executive. After the conclusion of the negotiations and before the general meeting, this must also meet again and decide on the candidates for the pink ministerial posts.

ÖVP has pact approved by federal party executive committee
The People's Party will submit the pact government programme to the federal party executive, although this is not required according to its organizational statutes. Accordingly, the federal party chairman exercises the nomination rights of the federal party in connection with government participation and makes the corresponding decisions on personnel issues. According to the ÖVP, Christian Stocker also has this right, which was introduced under former ÖVP leader Sebastian Kurz, as acting federal party leader. Nevertheless, the coalition agreement reached will be discussed by the federal party executive. Under Stocker's predecessor Karl Nehammer, the federal states and alliances already had a say in the selection of ministers.