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Burgenland governor Doskozil wins Austria’s Social Party leadership poll

Burgenland Governor Hans Peter Doskozil narrowly won the SPÖ poll among members to become the centre-left party's new leader - and possible candidate for Austrian chancellery.

Published: 22 May 2023 17:33 CEST
Burgenland governor Doskozil wins Austria's Social Party leadership poll
Austrian SPÖ Burgenland governor Hans Peter Doskozil hasn't had contact with the man he lost party leadership to during a recount - prompting speculation of a intra-party rift between the men's camps. (Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP)

Hans Peter Doskozil took the top spot in the SPÖ membership poll, the centre-left party announced on Monday.

Election administrator Michaela Grubesa said Doskozil received 33.68 percent of the votes cast by SPÖ members.

Traiskirchen Mayor Andreas Babler came second with 31.51 percent. Party chairwoman Pamela Rendi-Wagner came in at 31.35 percent. A total of 147,993 people were eligible to vote, and 107,133 votes were cast. Voter turnout was 72.79 percent.

It is still uncertain whether the party leadership will be definitively determined at this stage, as The Local has reported.

READ ALSO: ‘Inhuman speech’: Austria’s far-right blasted for wanting to tie social benefits to German skills

Formally, the members’ vote serves as a recommendation, and the delegates at the party congress will make the binding decision on June 3rd. While Rendi-Wagner and Doskozil said they intended to accept any defeat in the poll as final, Babler had stated he would contest a narrow deficit and proceed to a runoff at the party congress.

Rendi-Wagner, who came last according to the poll results, had been the leading candidate as the current leader of the Social Party. The Viennese 51-year-old is a feminist and politician who has served as the party’s chairwoman since late 2018.

However, as the SPÖ has dipped in voter intention polls (with a rise of the far-right FPÖ), her leadership and ability to put together a strong campaign ahead of the 2024 elections have been questioned.

Who is Hans Peter Doskozil?

Doskozil, the Burgenland governor, was also the primary opposition candidate in the run – and the man that started the race.

He has been one of the prominent critics of Rendi-Wagner’s political tactics and called for the SPÖ to have a more rigid stance as the opposition party. This year, he officially announced that he’d be running for the top position within the SPÖ party, challenging the current leadership.

READ ALSO: How do Austrians elect their chancellor?

Doskozil organised a strong campaign for the spot and said he would focus on projects already implemented in the eastern state where he is governor, such as defending a minimum wage of €2,000 and restructuring care facilities and free kindergarten.

The governor’s migration policy is based on the principle of “integration before new arrivals and rapid assistance on the ground”, according to his announced programme.

He was defence minister during 2016/17, at the height of the migrant crisis in Europe and is considered to have a tougher stance on asylum policies.

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POLITICS

‘Glass half full’: Who is Austria’s Beer Party candidate for chancellor?

Austria's controversial but increasingly popular Beer Party announced it would run in the upcoming National Council elections, with party leader and former rock star Dominik Wlazny seeking the chancellery.

Published: 30 April 2024 16:38 CEST
'Glass half full': Who is Austria's Beer Party candidate for chancellor?

With his distinctive long dark hair and rebellious torn jeans, punk rock singer Dominik Wlazny of Austria’s Beer Party has emerged as an intriguing candidate for the country’s next chancellor, just as he did when he ran for president—and surprisingly did better than expected.

Yet, Wlazny announced this Tuesday that the Beer Party will definitely be running in the national elections and seeks to reach a self-imposed funding target of  €1.2 million. “Our glass is more than half full, and there is massive support,” he said at a short press conference.

Wlazny, who joked that his announcement would probably cause “gasps” at the other parties’ headquarters, did not answer any questions after his statement but announced another press conference next week with more details. 

READ ALSO: How do Austrians elect their chancellor?

In almost all of the most recently published polls, the Beer Party would overcome the four percent hurdle, meaning Wlazny may not be the country’s next chancellor. Still, the protest party might grab seats in Austria’s National Council. The left-of-centre movement is likely to attract protest voters in particular and could be an unpleasant opponent for the SPÖ, Greens and KPÖ.

Wlazny’s previous electoral performance provides some insight into the Beer Party’s potential in the upcoming elections. In the 2022 presidential elections, the medical graduate, long known primarily as band leader Marco Pogo, came third with 8.3 percent of the vote and even came second in Vienna.

Who’s behind the beer party?

The Beer Party, a satirical political movement, was founded in 2015 by Austrian comedian, doctor, brewer, and musician Dominik Wlazny, known by his stage name Marco Pogo. The party was a response to perceived corruption and a lack of transparency in Austrian politic, aiming to bring a fresh and unconventional approach to governance.

Wlazny studied medicine in Vienna and worked as a general doctor in a hospital before quitting in 2014 to focus on music.

Wlazny said that he was inspired by one of the songs played by the punk band he was a part of, which included the lyrics: ‘If you like to be fat and drink a lot every day, then vote for us now, the Beer Party, and we’ll abolish the alcohol tax.”

More serious proposals have slowly replaced the controversial party policies. When he ran for president, Wlazny said he would vet candidates proposed as ministers, making them go through a hiring process like in a company, to seek to avoid political chaos due to unfit leaders.

Currently, the president usually doesn’t reject the government’s choices.

“I often have the feeling that it’s harder to get an apprenticeship in Austria than a ministerial post,” Wlazny said at the time.

Wlazny also said that, as president, he would want to push for establishing a so-called “Future Ministry” to check the impact of policy decisions on security, the environment, health, and other sectors.

He said measures should have been taken decades ago to avoid the country’s dependence on fossil fuels, which hurts it now amid the ripple effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

READ ALSO: Why is support for Austria’s far-right FPÖ rising?

But what are the party’s program points?

There have been none so far. The Beer Party hasn’t made its National Council election promises public and hasn’t announced a party list, at least not yet.

Austrian political commentator Thomas Hofer told the newspaper Kurier that the strategy is clever: “As long as he doesn’t have a detailed program, Wlazny remains less vulnerable in terms of content—even if this is, of course, problematic in terms of democratic politics.” 

There is also very little information on the party’s website. One page, called “menu,” holds some of the party’s general and superficial proposals, such as “active fight against child and family poverty,” “transparent and comprehensible rental price regulation,” “educational equality for all,” “expansion of the public transport network,” and more.

The party also claims women should have the “right to make decisions about their own body” and that small and medium enterprises are the “backbone of the economy” and a focus for the politicians. 

Additionally, they advocate for “appropriate doctor/patient care ratio”, “environmentally friendly, sustainable energy policy for a climate-neutral Austria”, and “promotion of research and development”, among others. 

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