Viennese stonework

Chamber President Now Urges Ruck to Resign

Power Struggle Between Walter Ruck and Martha Schultz(Bild: Krone-Collage/Zwefo, Mario Urbantschitsch)

Following in the footsteps of Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker, Martha Schultz, President of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, is now also distancing herself from Walter Ruck, President of the Vienna Regional Chamber. She assumes “that he will take the right steps.” Ruck likely has allies only within his own chamber: “We won’t let them oust our president,” they say there, taking a confrontational stance.

As is well known, it all began with a stilt walk at the Schweizerhaus, then the opposition pounced, and it could ultimately end in a shambles for the ÖVP. The transcripts of conversations obtained by the “Krone,” in which Vienna Chamber of Commerce President Walter Ruck is said to have described how he arranged top positions in the city, are dominating domestic politics. The recordings documented political horse-trading and Ruck’s questionable view of women. On Monday, Chancellor Christian Stocker therefore voiced criticism—and announced his intention to investigate the matter, with appropriate consequences if warranted. 

That same day, the Chamber of Commerce also took a firm stance. President Martha Schultz, who has already taken decisive action within the chamber several times during her short tenure, is now even indirectly urging Ruck to resign.

Chamber of Commerce President Martha Schultz(Bild: Mario Urbantschitsch)

Schultz: “Regaining Trust”
“We are in the midst of a reform process aimed at gradually regaining the trust that was squandered in the past. For this reason, Walter Ruck’s statements struck me all the more, as they in no way correspond to our worldview or our culture of decision-making. I am convinced that Walter Ruck has become aware of the implications of his remarks and wants to prevent further damage to the Chamber of Commerce,” said the president. She therefore expects Ruck to take the “right steps.” 

Walter Ruck(Bild: Zwefo)

“A system that works for the SPÖ”
ÖVP caucus leader Harald Zierfuß, who was also criticized by his party colleagues in the meeting transcripts, doubled down in the “Krone”: “I don’t need to be appreciated by a system that works for the SPÖ and seeks to harm the People’s Party.” This also refers to the close friendship between the Chamber president and the mayor of Vienna. Zierfuß concludes with the campaign slogan: “Our work in the opposition will expose all the shortcomings of the SPÖ-NEOS city government without exception.”

Internal Messages of Support
Meanwhile, the Vienna Economic Association launched a counteroffensive on Monday afternoon. In a circular—a copy of which is also available to the “Krone”—Director Florian Kollenz addressed the officials directly. The message: “We won’t let anyone force our president out based on unconfirmed statements from a potentially illegally recorded audio recording. Today there were various calls for his resignation—that’s when you learn what solidarity in a party really means.”

The old saying holds true: If everyone sweeps in front of their own doorstep, the street stays clean.

Florian Kollenz

And Kollenz went on to say: “We hear every day that Vienna’s businesses expect the federal government to do more to combat inflation and bureaucratic madness; this is an area where federal politicians could find meaningful work. It’s also a bit irritating that we’re now hearing voices from the Austrian Chamber of Commerce when it comes to taking a stand against their own people. Our members waited in vain for the loud voice of this interest group to speak out against the bureaucratic monster of the food VAT cut or the sin of the free package delivery fee.”