3 months before the election

The end of Red-Pink 1 is now official

The SPÖ under party leader and mayor Michael Ludwig (pictured right) has now been in government with the Neos and his deputy Christoph Wiederkehr (left) for more than four years.(Bild: Zwefo)

First a heated exchange of blows in the municipal council - then the parties jointly cleared the way for new elections on April 27. And so it continues.

The early Vienna elections in 95 days are casting their shadows ahead. While the ÖVP already presented its first election campaign ("Vienna remains Vienna") during the municipal council meeting, the new election on April 27th still had to be decided. Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) and his deputy Christoph Wiederkehr (NEOS) announced at the end of last week that they did not want to wait until the regular date in the fall - "to spare the Viennese a long election campaign."

Last Friday, Mayor Ludwig and Deputy Mayor Wiederkehr announced in an online statement that the Vienna Election 2025 would be brought forward to April 27.(Bild: Martin A. Jöchl)

After a topical question and answer session and a robust debate, it was decided in a spontaneously convened presidential meeting that a joint motion would be submitted by all parties. The early dissolution of the municipal council was then unanimously approved.

We in Vienna are the counter-model to blue-black. The election in April guarantees that Vienna will remain stable.

SPÖ-Klubvorsitzender Josef Taucher

The coalition has overcome crises ranging from coronavirus to the war in Ukraine and initiated new climate protection projects.

Neos-Klubobfrau Bettina Emmerling

Bild: Martin A. Jöchl

The NEOS have stirred up a storm in the federal government, now it is implausible that they want to make Vienna storm-proof.

Grünen-Chefin Judith Pühringer

There is just one language teacher for every 80 pupils. Instead of taking countermeasures, container classes have been set up

ÖVP-Bildungssprecher Harald Zierfuß

The red-pink government has produced a deficit of 14.8 billion euros since 2020, although the Viennese have been left out in the cold at the same time.

FPÖ Wien-Obmann Dominik Nepp

Now there are even to be special meetings
The formal motion was to dissolve the municipal council before the end of the electoral term - although the dissolution will not take effect immediately, as the regular meetings of the municipal council and state parliament are to take place as planned until the election in just under three months' time. And that's not all: in his speech, SPÖ party leader Joe Taucher hinted that special meetings could also be scheduled to decide on outstanding projects. His motto: "We still have a lot to do, so we'll keep working." According to the government monitor, 93.4 percent of the city government's projects have already been implemented or are being implemented.

All opposition parties offered themselves to SPÖ leader Michael Ludwig as future coalition partners. Even the FPÖ. "The City of Vienna regularly calls for more police officers for Vienna - a demand it shares with the FPÖ," says FPÖ chairman Dominik Nepp. But even if this punch doughnut has now been gnawed away: Cooperation between the SPÖ and Neos could resume before the summer. Provided it works out again.