Social Democratic Party of Austria
Social Democratic Party of Austria Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs | ||
---|---|---|
Chairman Andreas Babler | | |
Parliamentary leader | Andreas Babler & Philip Kucher | |
Managing director | Klaus Seltenheim & Sandra Breiteneder | |
Notable deputy chairpersons | ||
Founder | State diets 133 / 440 | |
European Parliament | 5 / 19 | |
Party flag | ||
Website | ||
spoe | ||
The Social Democratic Party of Austria (
Since June 2023, the party has been led by
The SDAPÖ was the second largest party in the
History
Since its foundation in 1889 as the SDAPÖ, the party has been one of the main political forces in Austria. At the start of the World War I, it was the strongest party in parliament. At the ending of that war in 1918, the party leader Karl Renner became Chancellor of the First Republic. The SDAPÖ lost power in 1920, but it retained a strong base of support.
After the break-up of the
The SDAPÖ was the most established of the European social democratic parties. In the 1920s, about 15 percent of Austrians were members of an association linked to the party. In 1929, it had 720,000 members. The SDAPÖ was almost hegemonic among the working class, but could not compete with the conservatives in the countryside and small towns. The economic crisis of the 1930s, which caused factory closures and increased unemployment, weakened the labor movement and with it the SDAPÖ. In 1930, its membership was down to 650,000 militants.[12]
From 1919 to February 1934, the Social Democrats were in continuous control of the Vienna municipality, which acquired the nickname "Red Vienna". The municipality developed an ambitious policy, including a vast program of construction of workers' housing, which included 60,000 communal social housing units. In addition, free medical care was introduced, and income and luxury taxes were introduced. Culture was clearly emphasized: "Arbeiterbildung" (working-class education and culture) reigned supreme, and the city was home to many internationally renowned intellectuals and artists. Numerous cinemas and theaters subsidized by the municipality opened their doors, and sports became more democratic. This socialist experiment, supported by some renowned intellectuals such as Otto Neurath and Sigmund Freud, also inspired a violent disgust in conservative circles. The press readily described red Vienna as a "Jewish creation" in the hands of "Bolshevism".[12]
In 1934, the Christian Social Party, the dominant party on the right, overthrew the democratic system and established a regime inspired by fascism. The social democrats and communists put up armed resistance, but it was quickly crushed.[12]
When Anschluss took place in 1938 at the hands of
From 1971 to 1983, the SPÖ under
After the lost state elections in Lower Austria and Carinthia at the beginning of 2023, there was a power struggle between the moderate Social Democratic party wing around party leader Pamela Rendie-Wagner and the right-wing, FPÖ-friendly party wing around Burgenland governor Hans Peter Doskozil. The Social Democratic wing has support from socialists and communists. The right wing has support from the middle wing of the party. Disputes and disagreements have existed for years. In March 2023, the situation came to a head after the SPÖ Burgenland stopped paying money to the federal party. On 15 March 2023 a heated party executive meeting led to the call for a new party leadership election. The candidacy for the new leadership was heated and a surprise candidacy from Andreas Babler, mayor of Traiskirchen, which has led to some other candidates to withdraw their candidacy for the 2023 Social Democratic Party of Austria leadership election.[13][14][15]
Dealing with the past from 1938-1945
Concerning the role of the SDAPÖ during
Reflecting the change in attitude towards the past, President
Election results by states
This section needs to be updated.(January 2020) |
Burgenland
Burgenland is a state that is a traditional stronghold of the SPÖ. Since 1964, the governors of this easternmost state have come from the SPÖ. Burgenland is one of the few states that are ruled by a SPÖ majority in the state assembly (Landtag). In 2000, the SPÖ received 46.6%. In 2005, it received 5.2% more votes and ended up with an absolute majority of 51.8%. After losing it in 2010, the SPÖ was able to regain it in the latest election in January 2020. From 2015 to 2020, the SPÖ in Burgenland was in an unusual coalition with the FPÖ. The Governor (Landeshauptmann) of the Burgenland is Hans Peter Doskozil.
Carinthia
The SPÖ used to be strong in
Lower Austria
In Lower Austria, the SPÖ received 29.2% in 1998. It increased its shares by 3.2% in 2003 and ended up with 32.4%. In the 2008 Lower Austrian state election, the SPÖ received 25.5% of the vote.
Salzburg
In 2004, the SPÖ won a surprising victory in
Styria
Tyrol
In
Upper Austria
In 2003, the SPÖ was able to raise its voters share in Upper Austria by 11.3% from 27% (1997) to 38.3%. It was in a grand coalition with the ÖVP in the state government as the junior partner, with four out of nine of the state government ministers coming from the SPÖ.
Vienna
Vienna was always traditionally the stronghold of the SPÖ. The current Governor-Mayor of Vienna is Michael Ludwig. In the 2020 Viennese state election the SPÖ raised its vote-share to 41,6%. The party with the largest gains was the ÖVP which doubled its vote-share and won 20,4% of the votes.
Vorarlberg
Vorarlberg is a traditional stronghold of the conservative ÖVP. Of all the Austrian states, the SPÖ receives the fewest votes in this westernmost state. In the 2019 the SPÖ ended up with 9,5% of the vote, a raise of 0,7%. The winner of the election was the conservative ÖVP under governor Markus Wallner which won around 45%.
Chairpersons since 1945
The chart below shows a timeline of the social-democratic chairpersons and the
Select list of other SPÖ politicians
- Member of Parliament
- Josef Cap, head of the parliamentary club (Klubobmann)
- Johanna Dohnal, the first minister for women's affairs during the government of Bruno Kreisky
- Christoph Matznetter, budget and financial matters spokesman in the National Council
- Barbara Prammer, first female National Council President of Austria
Minority factions
Some groups within the SPÖ such as
Election results
Imperial Council
Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Government |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1891 | 3,848 | 1.2 (#12) | 0 / 353
|
Extra-parliamentary | |
1897 | 245,001 | 23.1 (#2) | 14 / 425
|
14 | Opposition |
1900–1901 | 251,652 | 23.3 (#2) | 12 / 425
|
2 | Opposition |
1907 | 513,219 | 11.1 (#2) | 50 / 516
|
38 | Opposition |
1911 | 542,549 | 11.9 (#2) | 46 / 516
|
4 | Opposition |
Constituent National Assembly
Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Government |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1919 | 1,211,814 | 40.8 (#1) | 72 / 170
|
72 | SDAPÖ–CS majority |
National Council
Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Government |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1920 | 1,072,709 | 36.0 (#2) | 69 / 183
|
3 | Opposition |
1923 | 1,311,870 | 39.6 (#2) | 68 / 165
|
1 | Opposition |
1927 | 1,539,635 | 43.3 (#2) | 71 / 165
|
3 | Opposition |
1930 | 1,517,146 | 41.1 (#1) | 72 / 165
|
1 | Opposition |
1945 | 1,434,898 | 44.6 (#2) | 76 / 165
|
4 | ÖVP–SPÖ–KPÖ majority |
1949 | 1,623,524 | 38.7 (#2) | 67 / 165
|
9 | ÖVP–SPÖ majority |
1953 | 1,818,517 | 42.1 (#1) | 73 / 165
|
6 | ÖVP–SPÖ majority |
1956 | 1,873,295 | 43.0 (#2) | 74 / 165
|
1 | ÖVP–SPÖ majority |
1959 | 1,953,935 | 44.8 (#1) | 78 / 165
|
4 | ÖVP–SPÖ majority |
1962 | 1,960,685 | 44.0 (#2) | 76 / 165
|
2 | ÖVP–SPÖ majority |
1966 | 1,928,985 | 42.6 (#2) | 74 / 165
|
2 | Opposition |
1970 | 2,221,981 | 48.4 (#1) | 81 / 165
|
7 | SPÖ minority supported by FPÖ |
1971 | 2,280,168 | 50.0 (#1) | 93 / 183
|
12 | SPÖ majority |
1975 | 2,326,201 | 50.1 (#1) | 93 / 183
|
SPÖ majority | |
1979 | 2,413,226 | 51.0 (#1) | 95 / 183
|
2 | SPÖ majority |
1983 | 2,312,529 | 47.6 (#1) | 90 / 183
|
5 | SPÖ–FPÖ majority |
1986 | 2,092,024 | 43.1 (#1) | 80 / 183
|
10 | SPÖ–ÖVP majority |
1990 | 2,012,787 | 42.8 (#1) | 80 / 183
|
SPÖ–ÖVP majority | |
1994 | 1,617,804 | 34.9 (#1) | 65 / 183
|
15 | SPÖ–ÖVP majority |
1995 | 1,843,474 | 38.1 (#1) | 71 / 183
|
6 | SPÖ–ÖVP majority |
1999 | 1,532,448 | 33.2 (#1) | 65 / 183
|
6 | Opposition |
2002 | 1,792,499 | 36.5 (#2) | 69 / 183
|
4 | Opposition |
2006 | 1,663,986 | 35.3 (#1) | 68 / 183
|
1 | SPÖ–ÖVP majority |
2008 | 1,430,206 | 29.3 (#1) | 57 / 183
|
9 | SPÖ–ÖVP majority |
2013 | 1,258,605 | 26.8 (#1) | 52 / 183
|
5 | SPÖ–ÖVP majority |
2017 | 1,351,918 | 26.9 (#2) | 52 / 183
|
Opposition | |
2019 | 1,011,868 | 21.2 (#2) | 40 / 183
|
12 | Opposition |
Presidency
Election | Candidate | First round result | Second round result | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | Result | Votes | % | Result | ||
1951 | Theodor Körner
|
1,682,881 | 39.1 | Runner-up | 2,178,631 | 52.1 | Won |
1957 | Adolf Schärf | 2,258,255 | 51.1 | Won | |||
1963 | Adolf Schärf | 2,473,349 | 55.4 | Won | |||
1965 | Franz Jonas | 2,324,436 | 50.7 | Won | |||
1971 | Franz Jonas | 2,487,239 | 52.8 | Won | |||
1974 | Rudolf Kirchschläger | 2,392,367 | 51.7 | Won | |||
1980 | Rudolf Kirchschläger | 3,538,748 | 79.9 | Won | |||
1986 | Kurt Steyrer | 2,061,104 | 43.7 | Runner-up | 2,107,023 | 46.1 | Lost |
1992 | Rudolf Streicher | 1,888,599 | 40.7 | Runner-up | 1,915,380 | 41.1 | Lost |
1998 | No candidate | ||||||
2004 | Heinz Fischer | 2,166,690 | 52.4 | Won | |||
2010 | Heinz Fischer | 2,508,373 | 79.3 | Won | |||
2016 | Rudolf Hundstorfer | 482,790 | 11.3 | 4th place | |||
2022 | No candidate |
European Parliament
Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
---|---|---|---|---|
1996 | 1,105,910 | 29.2 (#2) | 6 / 21
|
|
1999 | 888,338 | 31.7 (#1) | 7 / 21
|
1 |
2004 | 833,517 | 33.3 (#1) | 7 / 18
|
|
2009 | 680,041 | 23.7 (#2) | 4 / 17
|
3 |
2014 | 680,180 | 24.1 (#2) | 5 / 18
|
1 |
2019 | 903,151 | 23.9 (#2) | 5 / 18
|
State Parliaments
State | Year | Votes | % | Seats | ± | Government |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Burgenland | 2020 | 92,633 | 49.9 (#1) | 19 / 36
|
4 | SPÖ majority |
Carinthia | 2023 | 117,962 | 38.9 (#1) | 15 / 36
|
3 | SPÖ–ÖVP |
Lower Austria | 2023 | 185,760 | 20.1 (#3) | 12 / 56
|
1 | Opposition |
Salzburg
|
2023 | 48,099 | 17.9 (#3) | 7 / 36
|
1 | Opposition |
Styria | 2019 | 138,572 | 23.0 (#2) | 12 / 48
|
3 | ÖVP–SPÖ |
Tyrol
|
2022 | 60,009 | 17.5 (#3) | 7 / 36
|
1 | ÖVP–SPÖ |
Upper Austria | 2021 | 150,094 | 18.6 (#3) | 11 / 56
|
0 | Opposition |
Vienna | 2020 | 301,967 | 41.6 (#1) | 46 / 100
|
2 | SPÖ–NEOS |
Vorarlberg | 2019 | 15,635 | 9.5 (#4) | 4 / 36
|
1 | Opposition |
Results timeline
Year | AT |
EU |
Bgld |
Ktn |
NÖ |
Sbg |
Stmk |
Tyrol |
OÖ |
Wien |
Vbg | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1945 | 44.6 | N/A | 44.9 | 48.8 | 40.4 | 39.5 | 41.6 | 28.0 | 38.3 | 57.2 | 27.2 | |
1946 | ||||||||||||
1947 | ||||||||||||
1948 | ||||||||||||
1949 | 38.7 | 40.4 | 40.8 | 37.4 | 33.6 | 37.4 | 24.0 | 30.8 | 49.9 | 19.1 | ||
1950 | ||||||||||||
1951 | ||||||||||||
1952 | ||||||||||||
1953 | 42.1 | 44.7 | 48.2 | 41.1 | 27.4 | |||||||
1954 | 41.0 | 38.2 | 52.7 | 26.0 | ||||||||
1955 | 39.4 | |||||||||||
1956 | 43.0 | 46.0 | 48.1 | |||||||||
1957 | 43.6 | 31.0 | ||||||||||
1958 | ||||||||||||
1959 | 44.8 | 42.3 | 38.6 | 54.4 | 29.3 | |||||||
1960 | 46.2 | 48.5 | ||||||||||
1961 | 41.7 | 30.1 | 39.6 | |||||||||
1962 | 44.0 | |||||||||||
1963 | ||||||||||||
1964 | 48.2 | 42.8 | 40.9 | 54.7 | 29.5 | |||||||
1965 | 49.2 | 42.2 | 30.5 | |||||||||
1966 | 42.6 | |||||||||||
1967 | 46.0 | |||||||||||
1968 | 50.3 | |||||||||||
1969 | 44.6 | 40.4 | 56.9 | 27.7 | ||||||||
1970 | 48.4 |
53.1 | 44.7 | 33.5 | ||||||||
1971 | 50.0 | |||||||||||
1972 | 50.5 | |||||||||||
1973 | 43.4 | 60.1 | ||||||||||
1974 | 43.9 | 36.2 | 41.2 | 27.6 | ||||||||
1975 | 50.4 | 51.4 | 32.4 | |||||||||
1976 | ||||||||||||
1977 | 52.0 | |||||||||||
1978 | 40.3 | 57.2 | ||||||||||
1979 | 51.0 | 54.0 | 45.4 | 39.1 | 29.3 | 41.4 | 29.0 | |||||
1980 | ||||||||||||
1981 | 42.7 | |||||||||||
1982 | 53.2 | |||||||||||
1983 | 47.7 | 41.4 | 55.5 | |||||||||
1984 | 51.7 | 35.1 | 25.2 | 24.0 | ||||||||
1985 | 38.0 | |||||||||||
1986 | 43.1 | 37.6 | ||||||||||
1987 | 47.3 | 54.9 | ||||||||||
1988 | 37.3 | |||||||||||
1989 | 46.0 | 31.3 | 22.8 | 21.3 | ||||||||
1990 | 42.8 | |||||||||||
1991 | 48.1 | 34.9 | 31.4 | 47.8 | ||||||||
1992 | ||||||||||||
1993 | 33.9 | |||||||||||
1994 | 34.9 |
37.4 | 27.1 | 19.8 | 16.2 | |||||||
1995 | 38.1 | 35.9 | ||||||||||
1996 | 29.2 | 44.5 | 39.2 | |||||||||
1997 | 27.0 | |||||||||||
1998 | 30.4 | |||||||||||
1999 | 33.2 | 31.7 | 32.9 | 32.3 | 21.8 | 13.0 | ||||||
2000 | 46.6 | 32.3 | ||||||||||
2001 | 46.9 | |||||||||||
2002 | 36.5 | |||||||||||
2003 | 33.6 | 25.9 | 38.3 | |||||||||
2004 | 33.3 | 38.4 | 45.4 | 16.9 | ||||||||
2005 | 52.2 | 41.7 | 49.1 | |||||||||
2006 | 35.3 | |||||||||||
2007 | ||||||||||||
2008 | 29.3 | 25.5 | 15.5 | |||||||||
2009 | 23.7 | 28.7 | 39.4 | 24.9 | 10.0 | |||||||
2010 | 48.3 | 38.3 | 44.3 | |||||||||
2011 | ||||||||||||
2012 | ||||||||||||
2013 | 26.8 | 37.1 | 21.6 | 23.8 | 13.7 | |||||||
2014 | 24.1 | 8.8 | ||||||||||
2015 | 41.9 | 29.3 | 18.4 | 39.6 | ||||||||
2016 | ||||||||||||
2017 | 26.9 | |||||||||||
2018 | 47.9 | 23.9 | 20.0 | 17.3 | ||||||||
2019 | 21.2 | 23.9 | 23.0 | 9.5 | ||||||||
2020 | 49.9 | 41.6 | ||||||||||
2021 | 18.6 Proporz |
|||||||||||
Year | AT |
EU |
Bgld |
Ktn |
NÖ |
Sbg |
Stmk |
Tyrol |
OÖ |
Wien |
Vbg | |
Bold indicates best result to date. Present in legislature (in opposition) Junior coalition partner Senior coalition partner |
See also
- Austro-Marxism
- Proletář
- Socialist Students of Austria
References
- ^ "Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs". ParlGov Database. Holger Döring and Philip Manow. Archived from the original on 5 November 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
- ^ Schiretz, Vilja. "Mitgliederbefragung - Die rote Basis als große Unbekannte". Österreich Politik - Nachrichten - Wiener Zeitung Online.
- ISBN 9781501706066.
- ISBN 978-1-136-34039-0. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ^ "Parties and Elections in Europe". www.parties-and-elections.eu. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
- OCLC 1256593260.
- ^ Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Austria: Transport and telecommunications - history - geography". Retrieved 24 October 2019.
- ^ Connolly, Kate; Oltermann, Philip; Henley, Jon (23 May 2016). "Austria elects Green candidate as president in narrow defeat for far right". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
- ^ "The Latest: Election tally shows Austria turning right". The Washington Times. Associated Press. 15 October 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
- from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
- KiB) Party platform, see articles I.(1) and III.7.(1): "strive for a society that overcomes class antagonisms", "only the advancement of political to economic, and therefore social, democracy establishes the precondition for the realization of our basic principles".[dead link]
- ^ a b c d Rabinbach, Anson. The Austrian socialist experiment : social democracy and austromarxism, 1918-1934. Boulder: Westview Press
- ^ "SPÖ-Mitgliederbefragung: Kein Duell, sondern mehrere Kandidaten" (in German). 22 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
- ^ "Fünf Thesen, wie Bablers Antreten und ein Gerücht über Kern den SPÖ-Führungsstreit durcheinanderwirbeln". 24 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
- ^ "Nikolaus Kowall will doch nicht als SPÖ-Chef kandidieren". 24 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
Literature
- Gordon Brook-Shepherd. The Austrians. HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. London, 1995. ISBN 3-552-04876-6.
- ISBN 3-7076-0196-X (discussion on book is available online on hagalil.com).
- ISBN 3-486-57815-4.
- Bruno Kreisky, Matthew Paul Berg (Translator), Jill Lewis (Ed.).The Struggle for a Democratic Austria: Bruno Kreisky on Peace and Social Justice. Berghahn Books, New York, 2000. ISBN 1-57181-155-9.
- Barbara Kaindl-Widhalm. Demokraten wider Willen? Autoritäre Tendenzen und Antisemitismus in der 2. Republik. Verlag für Gesellschaftskritik, Vienna, 1990.
- Norbert Leser: Zwischen Reformismus und Bolschewismus. Der Austromarxismus in Theorie und Praxis, 1968.
- Wolfgang Neugebauer. Widerstand und Opposition, in: NS-Herrschaft in Österreich. öbv und hpt, Vienna, 2000. ISBN 3-209-03179-7.
- Peter Pelinka. Eine kurze Geschichte der SPÖ. Ereignisse, Persönlichkeiten, Jahreszahlen. Ueberreuter, Vienna, 2005. ISBN 3-8000-7113-4.
External links
- Official website (in German)
- The Social Democratic Party of Austria
- Linzer Programm (3 November 1926) (in German)
- Otto Bauer – Austromarxism (in German)