New Job After Leaving the SPÖ

Zeiler: “Damn it, this can’t go on like this”

For Gerhard Zeiler, the chapter on politics is far from over.(Bild: Eva Manhart)

The SPÖ decided against him as leader, so now Gerhard Zeiler is launching a new offensive. The media executive wants to make a fresh start in Vienna—both as an entrepreneur and in politics. Here’s exactly what he has in mind, how he plans to finance the project, and what he intends to say to the Social Democrats.

One thing you can say about Gerhard Zeiler: He doesn’t hide. At Vienna’s Café Landtmann—the city’s political hub—the 71-year-old presented his immediate plans for the future early Tuesday morning. Four weeks ago, he announced in the *Krone* his ambition to become the new chairman of the SPÖ, succeeding Andreas Babler. “I believe I am the right person to lead the party out of this historic low,” he said. The SPÖ decided otherwise.

After days of stunned silence and little support for the executive—who had headed the international operations of the U.S. media giant Warner Bros. in recent years—the SPÖ convened a crisis meeting. There, it was decided that Finance Minister Markus Marterbauer would become vice chancellor at the start of 2027 and perhaps also party leader starting in March. Zeiler accepted this.

He wishes Marterbauer “truly, from the bottom of my heart, every success”; for him, the chapter as SPÖ leader is closed. Zeiler is not retiring, however. On the contrary. The former head of ORF and RTL is now founding the “Institut 2035” in Vienna. The name is not entirely coincidental. In 2035, Zeiler will turn 80—a time when he might reconsider retirement.