Red team presented

SPÖ: Who will govern with Andreas Babler

(Bild: APA/MAX SLOVENCIK)

After months of government negotiations and days of post disputes, the SPÖ is now visibly relieved to be entering government. Andreas Babler presented his team on Friday. 

At an executive meeting on Friday, the SPÖ approved both the coalition agreement with the ÖVP and NEOS and the personnel package presented by party leader Andreas Babler by a large majority. Only the pensioners' association representative voted against the pension part of the agreement with a note in the minutes and the Socialist Youth spoke out against government cooperation.

We have a strong, balanced and social democratic team that will enter this government.

Andreas Babler (SPÖ)

The red team will consist of a total of six ministers and three state secretaries:

• In addition to the office of Vice-Chancellor, party leader Andreas Babler will be responsible for Housing, Media, Culture and Sport as Minister 
• AK economist Markus Marterbauer will become Finance Minister. Babler described him on Friday as an "absolute top expert" and "highly respected scientist in the field of finance". He will restructure the republic's budget in a "balanced and fair" way. 
• Vienna's City Councillor for Finance, Peter Hanke, is set to become Minister for Infrastructure. With "management experience and political foresight", he should "get the Republic back on track".
• ÖGB Women's Leader Korinna Schumann has one of the largest portfolios as Minister for Social Affairs.
• The Vice President of the Administrative Court, Anna Sporrer, will take over the Ministry of Justice. Babler particularly emphasized her independence and professionalism; she is to establish the new federal attorneys. 
• SP women's leader Eva Maria Holzleitner becomes Minister for Women and Science. With this dual competence, the SPÖ also wants to strengthen equal rights for women in STEM professions. 

• Former Transport Minister Jörg Leichtfried will be the State Secretary for State Security in the Ministry of the Interior.

• Ulrike Königsberger-Ludwig, the former Lower Austrian State Councillor, will be the new State Secretary for Health in the Social Affairs Department. As an "experienced health politician", she is ideally suited, according to Babler. 

• Michaela Schmidt, Member of Parliament, will join the Vice-Chancellor's Office as State Secretary. She is considered a close confidante of Andreas Babler. 

Hergovich comes away empty-handed
Lower Austria's state leader Sven Hergovich, who had long been considered as the Minister of Infrastructure, contented himself on Friday in front of the Presidium with being pleased about Königsberger-Ludwig's appointment. It was in any case the right of the federal party chairman to select his team and he had done a very good job.

Hergovich's biggest supporter was his former boss Doris Bures. The Third President of the National Council was careful not to criticize the choice of personnel. There are "so many great people" in the SPÖ. In the end, a good mix had been achieved. EU parliamentarian Andreas Schieder had been considered as finance minister. He did not seem at all surprised that he was staying in Brussels. He had already said last week that not everything that is talked about actually happens. With Marterbauer, "a gifted economist" is now moving into the Ministry of Finance.