Prominent Alternative

“Party Colleagues” Want to Oust Babler and Stocker

Andreas Babler is more than just on his last legs. Christian Stocker’s fate could be tied to him.(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

The inflation rate is rising, as is the number of unemployed in Austria. At the same time, poll numbers for the two former major parties, the ÖVP and SPÖ, are plummeting. Panic is running high, especially in the states—and that has the chancellor and vice chancellor trembling with fear...

The two governing partners, the ÖVP and SPÖ, cannot seem to climb out of their slump in the polls. At the same time, they face upcoming state elections. This is causing panic within the parties and reigniting debates about their respective leaders. Nervousness is growing especially in the ÖVP’s traditional strongholds of Tyrol, Upper Austria, and Lower Austria: Elections will be held between fall 2027 and spring 2028—and both parties are facing losses.

Babler as an “image killer”?
Curiously, if you ask around in the ÖVP and SPÖ, you’ll often hear the same phrase: “Babler has to go.” Within the SPÖ, critics believe the party can’t go any higher with Babler at the helm. In the ÖVP, on the other hand, many blame the SPÖ leader for the government’s image.

Gerhard Zeiler is already courting support.(Bild: APA/FLORIAN WIESER)

Now Gerhard Zeiler is positioning himself once again. Austria’s most successful media executive (ORF, RTL, Warner) has made it clear to confidants that he is ready to take over the SPÖ. The 70-year-old is currently touring the federal states and gauging the mood among leading party members. One thing is clear: Zeiler will only run if he is granted a kind of “carte blanche” within the party, as Sebastian Kurz was in the past. And: This won’t happen overnight.

Andreas Babler is more than just on his last legs. Christian Stocker’s fate could be tied to his.(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

Michael Ludwig is set to play a key role. Sources close to the mayor of Vienna say: “If there are talks, he wouldn’t say anything, and if there aren’t any, he can’t say anything.”

Elli Köstinger—pictured here in her office with Gernot Blümel and Sebastian Kurz—was never entirely out of the picture...(Bild: Reinhard Holl)

Is Köstinger coming now?
The ÖVP is also pondering the near future. How much time party leader and Chancellor Christian Stocker has left to demonstrate success in the polls will not be decided in Vienna, but rather between St. Pölten, Linz, and Innsbruck.

In ÖVP circles, an old secret plan is being revisited: Elisabeth Köstinger, a former minister and close confidante of Sebastian Kurz, could take the helm—either immediately or in the event of snap elections—even serving as vice chancellor under Herbert Kickl. But by no means is everyone in the ÖVP convinced of this. Not yet?