The Social Democrats Launch a Campaign

SPÖ Seeks “Places of Stagnation” in Election Campaign

Upper Austria SPÖ Chairman Martin Winkler is presenting his party’s new campaign and wants to “get things moving instead of putting them off.”(Bild: MecGreenie Production OG)

While the federal SPÖ continues to grapple with internal turmoil, Upper Austria’s party leader Martin Winkler is presenting two political visions for the future and a new campaign. The Social Democrats aim to highlight, in the run-up to the 2027 state election, where progress has stalled in the state and how 20,000 new jobs can be created. They’re also taking aim at the ÖVP.

Upper Austria’s top Social Democrat deliberately presented his party’s new campaign alongside these two women: Nicole Trudenberger, the SPÖ’s state executive director, and Katharina Sperz, chairwoman of the Young Generation. Martin Winkler views both as the party’s hopes for the future. While the federal SPÖ has been preoccupied with its own internal affairs for weeks, the party in Linz is demonstrating unity. Not a word about the turmoil in Vienna—instead, the focus is squarely on the period leading up to the state election in the fall of 2027.

SPÖ Leader Speaks of 20,000 Additional Jobs
It’s clear what the party plans to focus on until then: more wind power, affordable housing, well-funded municipalities, and new jobs. According to the SPÖ, 20,000 additional jobs will be created through investments in energy, housing, and municipalities.

Winkler also considers one interim goal already achieved: The state-owned Energie AG is taking a 30 percent stake in the planned wind farm in Sandl. He counts this as a personal success: “I’ve managed to pull it off, and I’m a little proud of it.”

Trudenberger (left), Winkler, and Sperz presented the new SPÖ campaign: Posters will go up statewide starting in November.(Bild: MecGreenie Production OG)

Sharp Attack on the ÖVP’s Energy Policy
Winkler takes a less friendly stance toward ÖVP Provincial Councilor for Economic Affairs Markus Achleitner. He argues that Achleitner’s planned “acceleration zones” for wind power are far too small. At the same time, he points out, “no-go zones” are being designated in areas that are particularly windy. “You can’t just make that up,” the SPÖ leader says angrily.

We’ll show where projects are stalled. We’ll put solutions on the table. And we’ll keep at it until things start moving forward again.

SPÖ-Vorsitzender Martin Winkler

His political approach echoes his earlier career as an entrepreneur and manager: “Decide, implement, do.” He says he worked in the business world for more than 30 years and learned that what counts isn’t working groups, but completed projects.

Two Women as the Red Party’s Hopes for the Future
Nicole Trudenberger, who is herself active in local politics in the Rohrbach district, focuses on municipal finances. 228 of Upper Austria’s 438 municipalities can no longer balance their budgets on their own. Trudenberger is therefore calling for lasting relief. According to SPÖ calculations, this could make an additional 220 million euros available to municipalities each year. “We need municipalities that can once again plan, decide, and invest on their own.”

Katharina Sperz, on the other hand, draws attention to the concerns of the younger generation. She is particularly concerned about affordable housing. An apartment in the subsidized “Junges Wohnen” program, which cost seven euros per square meter in 2020, had already risen to 8.70 euros five years later. Sperz is therefore calling for a kind of “affordability guarantee”: “When buying your first apartment becomes unaffordable, it’s not just housing plans that get put on hold—it’s entire life plans.”

The SPÖ asks: “Where in Upper Austria is nothing moving forward?”
Under the slogan “Get things moving instead of putting them off,” the SPÖ is now launching its statewide campaign. At the same time, Winkler and his team plan to search for so-called “places of stagnation.” Through the website anschieben.at, Upper Austrians can report where projects have been stalled for years. These can include dilapidated schools, lacking infrastructure, or even closed youth centers. The SPÖ wants to address such cases and present concrete solutions. “It’s also about increasing the pressure on political leaders,” says the SPÖ chairman.