2023-05-10 14:43:31
Vienna. Towards the end of the intra-party election campaign for the SPÖ leadership, the struggle between the opponents continues at full speed. The SPÖ’s 148,000 members must vote by Wednesday to determine the future party leadership. Then they have to deliver the ballots to the post office or vote online (until midnight). Two more weeks will be expected for results. The camps of the three candidates remained combative and optimistic until the end.
On Monday, the SPÖ sent out another bulletin reminding its members to remember to cast their votes. The bulletin also states that the election commission will determine the results on 22 May. The “democratic process” will be completed on June 3rd in Linz, with an extraordinary party congress where the highest candidate will be voted for the party chairmanship and upcoming National Council elections.
Babler leaves the door open, Doskozil looks more lucky
Of course, it is not yet clear who will lead the SPÖ in the future when the results of the member survey are announced. While the grassroots vote is binding for incumbent Pamela Rendi-Wagner and Burgenland Governor Hans Peter Doskozil, Traiskirchen Mayor Andreas Babler leaves the door open.
Babler himself is seen as a bit of an outsider, although he has run a very determined election campaign largely focused on social media alongside his own tour. However, it’s unclear whether his distinctive left streak, along with his low profile and possibly weaker network in party structures, will stand in the way.
Doskozil, whose campaign was designed by the well-connected former federal executive Max Lercher, is given a little more chance. The governor, who has a very restrictive immigration policy, is expected to be successful at the grassroots in highly populated states such as Lower Austria and Styria.
What about Rendi-Wagner? Will he be able to stay in the lead despite everything?
Judging by the polls, the incumbent Rendi-Wagner should be the favourite. Among his own constituency, he currently has the best rate of votes among the three candidates. Of course, voters are not the same as members; moreover, it remains a question as to who is more successful in mobilizing voters.
All three teams found well-known supporters, with Rendi-Wagner at the forefront having at least four former chancellors, while Doskozil can count on the fifth, Christian Kern. Babler gets votes especially from the younger part of the party, but Ferdinand Lacina, for example, former Finance Minister, is also on his committee.
There is great distrust in the party!
There are two main reasons why it takes so long to evaluate the results. On the one hand, a postmark applies to postal votes. This means that you have to wait a certain amount of time for all the votes to arrive. This also coincides with the holiday, so it was decided that the election commission would not meet until this date.
On the other hand, since there was great distrust within the party, it was agreed that the counting process should be as transparent as possible, accompanied by a notary public and an IT expert. (yenivatan.at)
#Final #act #SPÖ #presidential #elections #party #leader