Red fights. “If it turns out the way we all expect, then the fighting will break out on Sunday evening,” says a top SPöler.
In the red world, most people – apart from SPÖ chairman Andreas Babler, who believes in first place – are expecting third place for the reds. As is well known, in 2019 the SPÖ fell to its historic low of 21 percent. “It will be difficult to beat that. But from Sunday it will be a question of whether the pure doctrine faction or the pragmatists will prevail,” says an SPÖ man, analyzing the tense situation.
Rote Gretchenfrage. Babler’s critics accuse him of having utopian demands and ultimately preferring to go into opposition, while the pragmatists of the SPÖ want to govern in order to prevent black and blue. Ironically, exactly Hans Peter Doskozil – Burgenland will vote in January 2025 – could suddenly stand behind Babler because he has no interest in “black-red in the federal government”. He also believes that his arch-enemies – the Vienna Reds – would want that and therefore wants it even less.
Speaking of Vienna: It is the voters in the federal capital and other urban areas who could still save Babler. Those who vote SPÖ last second out of fear of black and blue could raise it to 22 percent. He didn’t need anything more to survive.
