Winkler admits SPÖ needs action as poll ratings fall

Martin Winkler, leader of the Social Democratic Party of Austria in Upper Austria, said in an ORF Upper Austria summer interview that his party needed to act if its nationwide support did not move towards 30 percent. The SPÖ is currently polling at 16 percent, according to the APA election trend.

Winkler told ORF Upper Austria editor-in-chief Stefan Hartl that the party could not be satisfied with its current standing. Fellow SPÖ politician Hans Peter Doskozil recently said that such figures meant “the roof was on fire”.

Asked whether action should include former media manager Gerhard Zeiler taking over the party leadership, Winkler avoided a direct answer and instead pointed to policy issues. He said action meant tackling problems, citing the 44 percent pension gap between men and women in Upper Austria. One reason, he said, was that women continued to take on most childcare responsibilities.

Winkler described himself as a “baker of small loaves”, saying the task was to work “day after day and deliver a good result in the end”. For the 2027 Upper Austrian state election, he is targeting well above 20 percent and a second state councillor for the SPÖ.

He also highlighted his conversations with residents, saying he had made more than 4,500 home visits, visited more than 100 businesses and spoken with thousands of people in recent months. Health, migration, rising costs and childcare were the issues raised most often, he said.

Coalition with FPÖ not ruled out

Winkler said he would not rule out cooperation with the Freedom Party of Austria after the 2027 election. Asked whether he could exclude Manfred Haimbuchner of the FPÖ being elected governor, Winkler replied: “I rule nothing out.”

He stressed that the SPÖ’s goal was not to make Haimbuchner governor. The party would hold talks with all parties after the election, he said, although negotiations with the FPÖ would be “the most difficult”. The Freedom Party would have to move “quite far” towards the SPÖ, Winkler added.

Winkler defends energy plan

Winkler defended his energy plan, which calls for major investment in hybrid and pumped-storage power plants. He said the proposals could mobilise a total of 10 billion euros.

The plan includes establishing a separate state company together with Energie AG. Further funding would come from banks and the European Investment Bank, he said. Winkler referred to his experience with comparable projects in Burgenland.

He rejected criticism that the plans were too expensive, saying he had more practical experience with such projects. Power plants were assets that generated returns over the long term, he said. The expansion could lead to lower electricity prices and create up to 14,000 additional jobs, according to Winkler.

Winkler calls for continued housing construction

Winkler also identified housing construction as a key issue for the coming years. Hartl cited Statistics Austria forecasts that population growth in Upper Austria would weaken significantly from 2030, meaning the need for new homes would no longer be as high in its current form.

Winkler argued that construction still had to continue, saying around 22,000 people in urgent need of housing were currently registered with non-profit housing cooperatives. He called for an increase in the number of homes built each year and pointed to 150 million euros from the federal government that had not yet been used.