Is the SPÖ divided?

“We have been too preoccupied with ourselves”

Eva-Maria Holzleitner has been a member of the National Council for the SPÖ since 2017. She would like her party to focus more on the actual problems.(Bild: Markus Wenzel)

Is the SPÖ really as divided as it appears on the outside? Women's leader Eva-Maria Holzleitner (31) talks to "Krone" about the situation in her party, the search for a party leader for Upper Austria, Hans Peter Doskozil's election victory in Burgenland and the austerity package put forward by the FPÖ and ÖVP.

"Krone": How far along is the search for a new leader for the state party in Upper Austria? Interim leader Alois Stöger currently looks as if he has taken a liking to it.
Eva-Maria Holzleitner: We have a lot of uncertainty in Upper Austria. Either you have lost your job or you are afraid that you will lose it soon. So in this respect, Alois Stöger has simply recognized the sign of the times that you have to be active, that you can't just cheat around a bit. And at the same time, he is already very actively looking for a successor. He is holding lots and lots of talks. I am confident that we will find a good solution for 2027. And he has already ruled out the possibility that it will be him.