The party leader controlled his tears. “What a wonderful result!” Babler said and criticized all the critical commentators in the media who constantly explained what social democracy is. “Of course you can feel proud,” he said. SPOs were not expected to be so united. “I want to thank you for this harsh decision regarding the democratization of our party.” The SPO has opened the windows and is letting fresh air in again.
Andreas Bübler has been head of the SPÖ for five months. Now the first test was before him. But counting of votes is such a thing. Counting the votes of 612 delegates took much longer than planned. By 5:48 p.m. it was not clear: Babler exceeded his predecessor’s result by 13.46 percent.
Speeches were given longer than expected. This time the SPO apparently did not want to leave any chance. The failure of the fight vote between Hans Peter Doskozil and Bubler in early June will not be forgotten. As is well known, the wrong man – Doskozil – was chosen as the winner in the first place.
The voting process, which lasted for an hour, started at 2 pm. Recently, former party leader Pamela Randi-Wagner managed to convince only 75.3 percent of delegates in 2021. This result probably defined the lowest pain threshold for the Traiskirchen mayor and the Federal Councilor. What a shame it would have been if he had received even lower approval ratings than his predecessor, who was voted out of office.
Bubler took the stage at 11:30 a.m. Saturday. In his hour-long speech, he said with satisfaction: “We have achieved leadership on this issue.” The SPO will speak clear language and will not be afraid of anyone. But Bubbler could not ignore the voting figures either. “We have to improve.”
The party chairman saw himself as the only alternative to Chancellor Herbert Kickl (FPÖ). The SPO is “the only force” that can stop Chancellor Kickle and the “black and blue destructive balls”. Bubler tried to exude confidence: “We’re turning the match.”
