Vorarlberg SPÖ seeks to end party leadership debate

Vorarlberg’s branch of Austria’s Social Democratic Party wants to put the party’s leadership debate behind it and focus on policy, ORF reported. The branch, led by Mario Leiter, supports decisions reached by the party’s nine state leaders at a meeting in Vienna on Sunday.

The leaders agreed that public disputes should stop and the party should return its focus to policy, deputy parliamentary group leader Manuela Auer said on Monday. Leiter briefed the Vorarlberg party leadership on the meeting that day.

“The discussions in public are over. There are stable conditions again. And the important thing is that work can now be done on substance,” Auer said. Whether the debate has actually ended remains to be seen.

Who will lead the national party in future is still undecided. State parliament member Reinhold Einwallner said the party needed clarity on personnel questions so it could focus on political issues rather than being dominated by internal debate.

The Vorarlberg SPÖ says the leadership debate will have no direct consequences for its regional branch. Whether discussion of the party’s future leadership will quieten by spring remains uncertain.