Burgenland’s governor Hans Peter Doskozil (SPÖ) emphasized on Thursday that criticizing the federal party was not about triggering a leadership debate about party leader Pamela Rendi-Wagner. “Splitting into the SPÖ is not my intention. My intention is to shake up the party and the population,” Doskozil told the ORF Burgenland.
Specifically, he wanted to show that “if the minimum wage and the care model are possible in Burgenland, that can be rolled out across Austria”. He is concerned with content and socio-political questions. He wanted to raise awareness of these issues – “in the sense of social democracy, not against social democracy,” said the governor.
His statement that the party with the best approval rating should lead the party to the next election was “no question” by party leader Rendi-Wagner. “This is the most normal thing in politics. Every politician has to ask himself: Am I still the right candidate for the next elections? Will I be elected by the population? This applies to everyone who leads a party,” emphasized Doskozil .
Doskozil decidedly ruled out that he could simultaneously become governor and federal party leader. That is “unimaginable”. It’s also about credibility. “With the choice, I expressed that I would stay in Burgenland. And that will be the case,” said the governor.
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