Austria's Vice Chancellor Babler to Quit as Social Democrat Leader After Poll Slide

Austrian Vice Chancellor Andreas Babler said on Sunday he will step down as leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) and as the country's second-highest government official early next year, bowing to growing unrest in the party over its slide in opinion polls, Reuters and dpa reported.

Finance Minister Markus Marterbauer, who is undergoing treatment for cancer, is set to replace Babler as vice chancellor. Babler said he could not say in which week the change would take place, according to Reuters.

"I am convinced this must end"

Babler made the announcement at a press conference in Vienna after a day of meetings among senior party figures.

"Public debates over who the leader should be are not good for political parties. Public disputes are not good for political parties," he said, according to Reuters. "I am convinced this must end."

"We have to manage to get everyone pulling together again," Babler said, as quoted by dpa.

According to dpa, he plans to remain in government as minister for housing, culture, media and sport. Austrian broadcaster ORF reported that parliamentary group leader Philip Kucher and SPÖ women's chair Eva-Maria Holzleitner will run the party on an interim basis, with a permanent leader to be chosen at a party congress in spring 2027.

Pressure from the polls

The Social Democrats are the second party in a three-way coalition led by conservative Chancellor Christian Stocker of the People's Party (ÖVP), alongside the liberal NEOS. The government was formed last year after the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) won the most seats in a parliamentary election for the first time but could not build a coalition.

Since then, the FPÖ has only gained ground. Reuters said its support is running at around 38%, more than the Social Democrats and the People's Party combined. Recent polls put the SPÖ on about 15%, around six points below its result in the September 2024 election, which dpa described as the party's worst on record.

Babler, a former shift worker, became SPÖ leader in 2023, but dpa reported that his staunchly left-wing positions made him a divisive figure within the party from the outset.

A week ago, media executive Gerhard Zeiler, a former head of RTL Group, said he wanted to replace Babler, reigniting the leadership debate, dpa reported.

Coalition reaction

Babler said he had informed his coalition partners of the planned changes. Stocker said in an initial reaction that internal party disputes must not disrupt the government's work, according to dpa.

ORF reported that the FPÖ used the moment to repeat its call for early elections.

It remains unclear who will succeed Babler as permanent party leader.