Course correction

Gerhard Zeiler: “Otherwise the SPÖ will become a minor party”

Media manager and Social Democrat Gerhard Zeiler would like to see his party reposition itself - away from the "left-left course" - and hopes for an ÖVP/SPÖ/NEOS government.

Gerhard Zeiler, 69, is back in Austria. If only for this week. The top media manager - once head of ORF, CEO of RTL Group, now Warner Media International - is spending most of his time in the USA. Zeiler is thinking about the elections and his party, the SPÖ. Social Democrat Zeiler himself was once under discussion as party leader. The outcome of the elections came as no surprise to him. "There were a lot of problems that the government didn't really tackle," says Zeiler to "Krone".

Rural areas left alone
Above all, an economic policy geared towards growth is now needed. Investments in education (all-day schools, kindergarten places, etc.); health/care; green energy (transformation in transport). "And: although we are a rich country, we have many poverty traps. This must be combated." And inflation must never be allowed to run rampant again. Zeiler also criticizes the "abandonment of rural areas" and calls for a migration policy that prioritizes the fight against illegal migration. "All areas why the election result is the way it is." And why Zeiler's SPÖ also performed poorly.

The Reds need a triumvirate
The attempt to turn the SPÖ into a left-wing party has failed. It was clear to anyone with any sense of reality that this attempt was bound to fail. The SPÖ always won and was strong when it showed the triumvirate: social policy on the left, economic policy in the center, security policy on the right. See Kreisky, or even Vranitzky. It has always lost when it drifted too far to the left, for example under Bruno Pittermann (SP leader from 1957 to 1967) or now. These lessons must now be learned. Zeiler: "And if, as I hope, a coalition of ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS is formed, then everyone must come together and tackle the important issues seriously. Then it can be successful."

The SPÖ has a long way to go. Now is not the time for personnel debates. "Even if I don't know any SPÖ leader who wouldn't have taken themselves out of the game in the event of such a defeat." However, it is more important that the Social Democrats take a different stance. "Because if it continues on its current course, it will become a minor party with 10 percent," says Gerhard Zeiler. Postscript: "I don't know anyone who wants to carry on like this."