Katzian to Babler:

“Nothing will change if he’s replaced”

Trade unionist Wolfgang Katzian (right) does not want to discuss the party leadership or the criticism of Andreas Babler “from the sidelines.”(Bild: Krone-Collage/Imre Antal, Screenshot ORF)

While parts of the SPÖ began positioning Gerhard Zeiler as a potential party leader, the powerful union has so far remained openly supportive of Andreas Babler. On the “ORF-Pressestunde” program, the support from boss Wolfgang Katzian no longer sounds nearly as clear-cut: Everything can be discussed, he said, but he’d prefer to do so “in the living room, not on the balcony” ...

Although ÖGB President Wolfgang Katzian avoided issuing an open challenge to SPÖ leader Andreas Babler despite repeated questions, his support sounded significantly less unreserved than it had in the past. The SPÖ’s persistently poor poll numbers are likely causing enough discontent within the union by now to prompt it to participate in internal party debates about possible alternatives at the party’s helm. 

Katzian also openly acknowledged that the Social Democrats have “a lot to discuss” and that no one within the movement can be satisfied with the current poll numbers. However, he did not want to conduct the necessary debate in public. His credo: Such discussions belong within party committees—in other words, “in the living room, not on the balcony.” He referred to that very “balcony” several times during the interview—whenever the name of his current party leader came up.

It’s not just Babler’s fault...
When asked whether Andreas Babler was still the right man to lead the SPÖ, Katzian avoided making a strong expression of confidence: the powerful SPÖ official could not be persuaded to say more than, “He is our party chairman.” Nevertheless, this extremely terse wording can be interpreted as yet another sign that the discussion about the party’s future has long since reached the union as well.

This was most clearly evident recently in the case of Josef Muchitsch, as reported by the “Krone”: During an internal presentation, he emphasized that SPÖ leader Andreas Babler was “unelectable for many” and, under the heading “What needs to be done?”, called for a “personnel realignment.”

Katzian, on the other hand, made it clear that he does not attribute the SPÖ’s problems solely to Babler as an individual. Simply replacing the party leader would not automatically solve the party’s structural difficulties. Rather, the key is to regain the trust of voters and deliver political results ... 

Debates over personnel only benefit the FPÖ
Only in this way could the FPÖ’s rise be stopped. Naturally, the ÖGB leader sharply criticized the FPÖ’s course. The Freedom Party, he said, was primarily benefiting from the dissatisfaction of many people without offering any viable solutions of its own. Especially in economically challenging times, he argued, it is the role of politics to create security and prospects.

The SPÖ must therefore regain the trust it has lost and deliver concrete results, rather than focusing exclusively on personnel debates. Only in this way can the FPÖ’s rise be effectively countered in the long term.