Upper Austria SPÖ stays silent after Doskozil attacks Babler

Austria’s Social Democratic Party is facing renewed internal criticism after Burgenland Governor Hans-Peter Doskozil attacked party leader Andreas Babler in an interview with ORF. Babler has not responded, and the Upper Austrian SPÖ also made no public statement on Friday, ORF reported.

Doskozil said the Social Democrats’ political course was missing the concerns of voters and that internal polling put the party at 13 or 14 percent. He added that some pollsters believed its actual support was even lower.

The SPÖ must improve its positioning and regain credibility and trust, Doskozil said. That was the party leader’s responsibility, he added, arguing that if Babler was unable to fulfil it, he would have to draw the consequences. His comments amounted to an indirect call for Babler to resign.

Carinthia Governor Daniel Fellner also criticised the party, saying the SPÖ needed to communicate its policies more effectively. The party had to take much more seriously the fact that its policies were not reaching voters in the way it wanted, he said.

No response came from the SPÖ in Upper Austria. The state party appeared to be keeping a low profile, with no comment from state party chairman and state councillor Martin Winkler, third state parliament president Peter Binder, Linz Mayor Dietmar Prammer or Steyr Mayor and SPÖ member of the National Council Markus Vogel.

Parliamentary group leader Sabine Engleitner-Neu also declined to comment. The SPÖ parliamentary group in Upper Austria has previously said it would not comment through the media on political statements made in other states.

Political scientist Peter Filzmaier said the rivalry between Doskozil and Babler was deeply personal. For the Upper Austrian SPÖ, he said, the key question was how it should position itself towards the national party. The state party did not want to openly attack Babler but also had no support from the national leadership, so it had chosen to remain silent.

That strategy could still work during the summer but would no longer be sufficient in the run-up to an election year, Filzmaier said. He added that there could be differing views within the Upper Austrian SPÖ, ranging from support for Babler to rejection of him.

The state party and local SPÖ organisations are facing an election year. In Upper Austria, municipal councils and mayors will be elected at the same time, Filzmaier said, making the parties reluctant to contradict each other publicly.