Placative election campaign

Green pretends to be a social democrat

New party member of the SPÖ? Judith Pühringer has herself printed as a social democrat. But as we know, she is the leader of the Greens. Openly flirting with Michael Ludwig's party.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Grüne Wien)

The parties' election posters are already causing a stir even before they appear on every street corner. The leader of the Green Party is even posing as a social democrat.

Election campaigns also mean that city politicians are laughing at us for weeks on end from house walls and street corners, whether we like it or not. The parties' strategists have been racking their brains for a very long time to find out how they can win over voters. Let's put it diplomatically: with varying degrees of success. And so the advertising lines are already causing a stir even before the billboards have been rolled out.

"Combination of climate and social policy"
What will probably surprise the comrades of the Vienna SPÖ: They have a new social democrat in their ranks. At least according to the poster of Judith Pühringer, who is known to be entering the race as the Greens' top candidate.

The party says: "We are putting up a poster for Judith Pühringer as a climate social democrat because we see her as a combination of climate and social policy, if only because of her background. Judith Pühringer stands for the necessary link and is therefore the face of climate-social urban policy." Democrats are "hopefully still more or less all of them".

What else the advertising motif shows: The Green Party leader is serving herself - not very subtly - to the real social democrats as a future partner in the city government. The flirtation with the SPÖ as a coalition partner probably falls into the category of political spring fever. And could trigger scenes of jealousy among the Neos, who are currently allied with the Social Democrats - and also emphasize the many overlaps with the SPÖ at every opportunity.

The subjects were leaked to the "Krone" while the posters were still being presented: Karl Mahrer (ÖVP) takes on the drug cartel.(Bild: ÖVP Wien)

.(Bild: ÖVP Wien)

"Karl instead of caliphate" did not end up on the posters
But he also wants to join the government: Karl Mahrer from the ÖVP. Even in his own party, his advertising line is met with astonishment. This is shown by the fact that the current posters were leaked to the "Krone" during the internal presentation.

There was resistance within the party's own ranks in the run-up to the campaign, particularly against the slogan "Karl instead of Caliphate", which will not be on the posters. Instead, this slogan made it: "Mother, the man with the coke will soon be gone." In other words: Karl Mahrer is taking on the drug cartel as the ÖVP Rambo. And with those who want to ban vehicles ("Ban cars? Banned!). However, a round call to the other parties shows that nobody wants that anyway.