Styria Social Democrats seek unity in Babler leadership dispute

Styria’s Social Democratic Party wants a united position on the leadership dispute between party leader Andreas Babler and challenger Gerhard Zeiler, ORF reports. The party’s state executive is meeting on Wednesday and plans to present its position at a news conference that evening.

Styria party leader Max Lercher called for unity on Tuesday and backed a meeting of the state party leaders to discuss how to handle the dispute. Babler has invited them to a meeting in Vienna on Sunday.

The dispute includes whether Zeiler must collect signatures to trigger a membership vote, or whether the federal party executive can call a special party conference to hold a vote on Babler and potential challengers. The party statutes leave room for different interpretations, according to the report.