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The Social Democratic Party of Austria (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs , SPÖ), founded and known as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (german: link=no, Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Österreichs, SDAPÖ) until 1945 and later the Socialist Party of Austria (german: link=no, Sozialistische Partei Österreichs) until 1991, is a
social-democratic Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...
political party in Austria. Founded in 1889, it is the oldest extant political party in Austria. Along with the
Austrian People's Party The Austrian People's Party (german: Österreichische Volkspartei , ÖVP ) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria. Since December 2021, the party has been led provisionally by Karl Nehammer. It is curre ...
(ÖVP), it is one of the country's two traditional major parties. It is positioned on the
centre-left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The ...
on the political spectrum. Since November 2018, the party has been led by
Pamela Rendi-Wagner Pamela Rendi-Wagner (born Joy Pamela Wagner, 7 May 1971) is an Austrian physician, environmentalist, feminist, trade unionist and politician serving as chairwoman of the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) since November 2018. She is the first woman to ...
. It is currently the second largest of five parties in the National Council, with 40 of the 183 seats, and won 21.2% of votes cast in the 2019 legislative election. It holds seats in the legislatures of all nine states; of these, it is the largest party in three ( Burgenland,
Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Bavarian group. Carin ...
, and
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
.) The SPÖ is supportive of Austria's membership in the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
, (458
KiB The byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the smallest addressable unit ...
) 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".
and it is a member of the
Socialist International The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism. It consists mostly of socialist and labour-oriented political parties and organisation ...
, Progressive Alliance, and Party of European Socialists. It sits with the
Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) is the political group in the European Parliament of the Party of European Socialists (PES). The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats was officially founded as a Socialis ...
in the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...
; of Austria's 19
MEPs A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, it ...
, five are members of the SPÖ. The party has close ties to the
Austrian Trade Union Federation The Austrian Trade Union Federation or Austrian Federation of Trade Unions ( de: ''Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund'', abbreviated OeGB or ÖGB) is a labour union of employees. It is constituted as an association and is subdivided into seven ...
(ÖGB) and the Austrian Chamber of Labour (AK). The SDAPÖ was the second largest party in the Imperial Council of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
from the 1890s through 1910s. After the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, it briefly governed the
First Austrian Republic The First Austrian Republic (german: Erste Österreichische Republik), officially the Republic of Austria, was created after the signing of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye on 10 September 1919—the settlement after the end of World War I w ...
, but thereafter returned to opposition. The party was banned in 1934 following the
Austrian Civil War The Austrian Civil War (german: Österreichischer Bürgerkrieg), also known as the February Uprising (german: Februarkämpfe), was a few days of skirmishes between Austrian government and socialist forces between 12 and 16 February 1934, in Aust ...
, and was suppressed throughout Austrofascism and the Nazi period. The party was refounded as the Socialist Party of Austria in 1945 and governed as a junior partner of the ÖVP until 1966. In 1970, the SPÖ became the largest party for the first time in post-war history, and
Bruno Kreisky Bruno Kreisky (; 22 January 1911 – 29 July 1990) was an Austrian social democratic politician who served as Foreign Minister from 1959 to 1966 and as Chancellor from 1970 to 1983. Aged 72 at the end of his chancellorship, he was the oldest ...
became
Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
, winning three consecutive majorities (
1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses ( February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events J ...
,
1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
, and 1979). From 1987 to 2000 the SPÖ led a grand coalition with the ÖVP before returning to opposition for the first time in 30 years. The party governed again from 2007 to 2017. Since 2017, the SPÖ have been the primary opposition to the ÖVP governments of Sebastian Kurz,
Alexander Schallenberg Alexander Georg Nicolas Schallenberg (; born 20 June 1969) is an Austrian diplomat, jurist and politician who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the government of Chancellor Karl Nehammer since 2021, previously holding the office f ...
, and Karl Nehammer.


History

Since its foundation in 1889, the SDAPÖ has been one of the main political forces in Austria. At the start of the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, it was the strongest party in parliament. At the ending of that war in 1918, the party leader
Karl Renner Karl Renner (14 December 1870 – 31 December 1950) was an Austrian politician and jurist of the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria. He is often referred to as the "Father of the Republic" because he led the first government of German ...
became
Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
of the First Republic. The SDAPÖ lost power in 1920, but it retained a strong base of support. After the break-up of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
(1918), the Social Democratic Party supported for a time the idea of a union with Berlin in order to constitute a great democratic German republic, thus taking up a revolutionary project of 1848. The victors of the war did not see it that way and set the borders of Austria. In the
interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relative ...
,
Austro-Marxism Austromarxism (also stylised as Austro-Marxism) was a Marxist theoretical current, led by Victor Adler, Otto Bauer, Karl Renner, Max Adler and Rudolf Hilferding, members of the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria in Austria-Hungary an ...
, maintaining its particularities in the face of German social democracy - guilty of having suppressed the Spartakist uprising of 1919 in blood - and Soviet communism, envisaged the creation of a new international aimed at bringing together the different currents of socialism. However, the attempt did not succeed. The more left-wing Social Democrats, such as Max Adler, relied on the Workers' Councils that had developed throughout Central Europe in 1918-1919, particularly in Vienna.Rabinbach, Anson. The Austrian socialist experiment : social democracy and austromarxism, 1918-1934. Boulder: Westview Press The SDAP 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 SDAP 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 SDAP. In 1930, its membership was down to 650,000 militants. From 1919 to February 1934, the Social Democrats were in continuous control of the Vienna municipality, which acquired the nickname "
Red Vienna Red Vienna (German: ''Rotes Wien'') was the colloquial name for the capital of Austria between 1918 and 1934, when the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (SDAP) maintained almost unilateral political control over Vienna and, for a short ...
". 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 Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts i ...
, also inspired a violent disgust in conservative circles. The press readily described red Vienna as a "Jewish creation" in the hands of "Bolshevism". 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. When Anschluss took place in 1938 at the hands of
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...
's
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
, he brought Austria into the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
. In 1945, the party was reconstituted as the Socialist Party of Austria (german: Sozialistische Partei Österreichs, SPÖ) and was led by Adolf Schärf. The SPÖ entered the government of the Second Republic as part of a
grand coalition A grand coalition is an arrangement in a multi-party parliamentary system in which the two largest political parties of opposing political ideologies unite in a coalition government. The term is most commonly used in countries where there are ...
with the
Austrian People's Party The Austrian People's Party (german: Österreichische Volkspartei , ÖVP ) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria. Since December 2021, the party has been led provisionally by Karl Nehammer. It is curre ...
(ÖVP) until 1966 and with the Communist Party of Austria until 1949. Renner became the first
President of Austria The president of Austria (german: Bundespräsident der Republik Österreich) is the head of state of the Republic of Austria. Though theoretically entrusted with great power by the Constitution, in practice the president is largely a ceremonial ...
. From 1971 to 1983, the SPÖ under
Bruno Kreisky Bruno Kreisky (; 22 January 1911 – 29 July 1990) was an Austrian social democratic politician who served as Foreign Minister from 1959 to 1966 and as Chancellor from 1970 to 1983. Aged 72 at the end of his chancellorship, he was the oldest ...
was the sole governing party. For the following three years, it ruled in coalition with the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), then up to 2000 it was again part of a grand coalition with the ÖVP, with Franz Vranitzky as Chancellor until 1997. In 1991, it reverted to including ''Democratic'' in its name, becoming the Social Democratic Party of Austria (german: link=no, Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs). During this period, the grand coalition combined with the
Proporz ''Proporz'' (, from german: Proportionalität, "proportionality") is a long-standing practice in the Second Austrian Republic in which positions in government are distributed between political parties in a manner proportional to their electoral o ...
system, whereby important posts throughout the government were shared out between members of the two main parties, evoked rising discontent. This was a factor in the growing popularity of the FPÖ which came second to the SPÖ in the
1999 Austrian legislative election Parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 3 October 1999. Although the Social Democratic Party remained the largest party in the National Council, a right-wing coalition government was formed by the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and the ...
. The following year, the FPÖ and ÖVP formed a
right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this pos ...
coalition, displacing the SPÖ from a share in government. While this coalition was still in power, the SPÖ's Heinz Fischer was elected president in the
2004 Austrian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Austria on 25 April 2004. While the post of President of Austria is a largely ceremonial one, presidential elections are conducted on a party basis and are seen as a test of the relative standing of the major ...
. Following the
2006 Austrian legislative election Legislative elections were held in Austria on 1 October 2006 to elect the 23rd National Council, the lower house of Austria's bicameral parliament. The governing Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) suffered substantial losses and was unexpectedly over ...
, another grand coalition was formed between the SPÖ and the ÖVP, lasting until 2017, when the SPÖ went back to the
opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Com ...
. In the 2019 Austrian legislative election, the SPÖ lost 12 seats and shrunk to 21.2%.


Confronting the past of 1938–1945

Concerning the role of the SDAPÖ during Nazi rule from 1938 to 1945, the party started opening its archives and set in a commission to investigate its past conduct. Despite the fact the SDAPÖ had been outlawed and many party members imprisoned under Austrofascism, many SDAPÖ members initially welcomed the ''
Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germa ...
'' of Austria into Germany back then and some became members of the
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...
.
Alfred Gusenbauer Alfred Gusenbauer (born 8 February 1960) is an Austrian politician who until 2008 spent his entire professional life as an employee of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) or as a parliamentary representative. He headed the SPÖ from 20 ...
issued a declaration promising and supporting a full and open investigation ("Klarheit in der Vergangenheit – Basis für die Zukunft"). In 2005, the report about the so-called "brown spots" (german: braune Flecken) was completed and published. The report talks about SDAPÖ members and leaders who became members of the Nazi Party during German rule after the ''Anschluss''. One example given in the report is the case of
Heinrich Gross Heinrich Gross (14 November 1915 – 15 December 2005) was an Austrian psychiatrist, medical doctor and neurologist, a reputed expert as a leading court-appointed psychiatrist, ill-famed for his proven involvement in the killing of at least nine ...
, who received many honours from the party and even the government in the post-war period. This was despite the fact that he worked as a Nazi doctor in the
euthanasia Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eut ...
ward Am Spiegelgrund in Vienna, where human experiments on children were performed. Those children with presumptive mental defects were eventually killed, often by lethal injection. Gross was probably himself involved in the experimentations and killings. The Austrian judicial system protected him for a very long time from any kind of prosecution, something that was very typical in the post-war period. He enjoyed wide support from the SPÖ and party leaders for a very long time. Reflecting the change in attitude towards the past, President Heinz Fischer in a 10 April 2006 interview with the liberal newspaper '' Der Standard'' strongly criticised Austria's view on its historical role during Nazi rule. He called the traditional view that Austria was the first victim of Nazi aggression as false. The
Moscow Declaration of 1943 The Moscow Declarations were four declarations signed during the Moscow Conference on October 30, 1943. The declarations are distinct from the Communique that was issued following the Moscow Conference of 1945. They were signed by the foreign sec ...
by émigrés which called for the independence of Austria from Nazi Germany was a problem since it stated that the war was neither started nor wanted by any Austrian ("Und das ist nicht richtig"), that Austrian Jewish victims were not mentioned in the declaration ("kein Wort für die jüdischen Opfer"), that it took decades for them to receive any kind of compensation and justice from the government and that it was regrettable and inexcusable. His statements were direct criticism of the right-wing government of the coalition ÖVP–FPÖ which rejected compensation to victims and the admission of the co-guilt Austrians carried for crimes committed by them during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
.


Election results by states


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
Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Bavarian group. Carin ...
as it regularly won the most seats in state elections and the governors used to be Social Democrats until 1989. Since the rise of Jörg Haider and his FPÖ, he successfully pushed the SPÖ out of their leading position. In state elections in 1999, the SPÖ received 32.9%. However, this went up to 38.4% in 2004. Until 2005, the SPÖ was in a coalition with the right-wing FPÖ in Carinthia, where Haider was Governor. This constellation is in question after the chairperson of the Carinthian SPÖ Gabi Schauning decided to resign from her post as Vice-Governor of Carinthia after a fall-out with Haider. Carinthia has a mandatory concentration government, where each party with a certain number of seats in the state parliament automatically participates in the state government. The term ''coalition'' refers to the co-operation between parties and not to the participation in the state cabinet.


Lower Austria

In
Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...
, 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 2008 Lower Austrian state election was held on 9 March 2008 to elect the members of the Landtag of Lower Austria. The Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) retained its majority. The major opposition party, the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SP ...
, the SPÖ received 25.5% of the vote.


Salzburg

In 2004, the SPÖ won a surprising victory in
Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...
. It was able to increase its share of votes from 32.2% (1999) to 45.3%. For the first time, the conservative ÖVP lost its traditional dominant position.
Gabi Burgstaller Gabi Burgstaller (born 23 May 1963) is an Austrian politician, and the former governess ('' Landeshauptfrau'') of the State of Salzburg. Life She was born in Penetzdorf/ Niederthalheim near Schwanenstadt in Upper Austria. After matriculation at ...
became the first SPÖ governess (''
Landeshauptfrau Landeshauptmann (if male) or Landeshauptfrau (if female) (, "state captain", plural ''Landeshauptleute'') is the chairman of a state government and the supreme official of an Austrian state and the Italian autonomous provinces of South Tyrol and Tr ...
'') in the state's history. In March 2009, the party lost 2 seats (from 17 to 15) with a 39.5% of the popular votes, going to the FPÖ (from 3 to 5) with a 13% of the votes. The ÖVP had 14 seats with a 36.5% of the votes and the Grüne 2 seat with a 7.3% . The BZÖ had no seat with a 3.7% of the votes, showing a growing of the right-wing parties. In the State elections 2013 the SPÖ lost its majority to the ÖVP. Since then, the ÖVP has providing the governor (Landeshauptmann) with Wilfried Haslauer jun. again.


Styria

Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered ...
was traditionally ruled by the ÖVP. In 2000, the Styrian SPÖ ended up with 32.3%. In 2005, the voters shifted towards the left, something that also benefited the
KPÖ The Communist Party of Austria (german: Kommunistische Partei Österreichs, KPÖ) is a communist party in Austria. Established in 1918 as the Communist Party of German-Austria (KPDÖ), it is one of the world's oldest communist parties. The KPÖ ...
, the local communist party. The SPÖ won 9.4% more and ended up with 40.7%, defeating the ÖVP which got 38.7% of the votes. Styrian SPÖ Chairman Franz Voves became the state Governor. After the State elections 2015 the SPÖ lost the governorship to the ÖVP. Since then, the ÖVP has providing the governor (Landeshauptmann) with Hermann Schützenhöfer again.


Tyrol

In
Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...
, the SPÖ receive few votes since the state is a traditional conservative stronghold. In 2018, the Tyrolean SPÖ received 17.3% of all votes. The winner of the election was the ÖVP under long-term governor Günther Platter, which received 44,3% of the total vote.


Upper Austria

In 2003, the SPÖ was able to raise its voters share in
Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, an ...
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 en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
was always traditionally the stronghold of the SPÖ. The current Governor-Mayor of Vienna is
Michael Ludwig Michael Ludwig (born 3 April 1961) is an Austrian politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ). Since May 2018, he has been Mayor and Governor of Vienna, the capital and largest city of Austria. Since January 2018, he has also served as cha ...
. 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 Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label= Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , or ) is the westernmost state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with th ...
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
Chancellors of Austria The chancellor of the Republic of Austria () is the head of government of the Republic of Austria. The position corresponds to that of Prime Minister in several other parliamentary democracies. Current officeholder is Karl Nehammer of the Aust ...
since 1945. The left bar shows all the chairpersons (''Bundesparteivorsitzende'', abbreviated as ''CP'') of the SPÖ, and the right bar shows the corresponding make-up of the Austrian government at that time. The red (SPÖ) and black (ÖVP) colours correspond to which party led the federal government (''Bundesregierung'', abbreviated as ''Govern.''). The last names of the respective chancellors are shown, with the Roman numeral standing for the cabinets. ImageSize = width:420 height:560 PlotArea = width:350 height:500 left:50 bottom:50 Legend = columns:3 left:50 top:25 columnwidth:50 DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:1945 till:2023 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1945 # there is no automatic collision detection, # so shift texts up or down manually to avoid overlap Colors = id:canvas value:gray(0.95) id:SPÖ value:red legend:SPÖ id:ÖVP value:gray(0.25) legend:ÖVP id:independent value:gray(0.85) legend:independent BackgroundColors = canvas:canvas Define $dx = 25 # shift text to right side of bar Define $dy = -5 # adjust height PlotData = bar:CP color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:S from:1945 till:1957 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text: Adolf Schärf from:1957 till:1967 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text:
Bruno Pittermann Bruno Pittermann (3 September 1905 – 19 September 1983) was an Austrian social democrat politician. He served as both the chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Austria from 1957 to 1967, and the Vice Chancellor of Austria The vice-chanc ...
from:1967 till:1983 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text:
Bruno Kreisky Bruno Kreisky (; 22 January 1911 – 29 July 1990) was an Austrian social democratic politician who served as Foreign Minister from 1959 to 1966 and as Chancellor from 1970 to 1983. Aged 72 at the end of his chancellorship, he was the oldest ...
from:1983 till:1988 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text:
Fred Sinowatz Alfred Sinowatz (5 February 192911 August 2008) was an Austrian politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ), who served as Chancellor of Austria from 1983 to 1986. Prior to becoming Chancellor, he had served as Minister of Education from 19 ...
from:1988 till:1997 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text: Franz Vranitzky from:1997 till:2000 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text:
Viktor Klima Viktor Klima (born 4 June 1947) is an Austrian Social Democrat politician and businessman. He was chancellor of Austria from 1997 to 2000. Early career Born in Schwechat, Lower Austria, Klima started working for the then state-owned OMV oil c ...
from:2000 till:2008 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text:
Alfred Gusenbauer Alfred Gusenbauer (born 8 February 1960) is an Austrian politician who until 2008 spent his entire professional life as an employee of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) or as a parliamentary representative. He headed the SPÖ from 20 ...
from:2008 till:2016 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text: Werner Faymann from:2016 till:2018 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text: Christian Kern from:2018 till:end shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text:
Pamela Rendi-Wagner Pamela Rendi-Wagner (born Joy Pamela Wagner, 7 May 1971) is an Austrian physician, environmentalist, feminist, trade unionist and politician serving as chairwoman of the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) since November 2018. She is the first woman to ...
bar:Govern. color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:7 from:1945 till:1946 shift:($dx,-2) color:SPÖ text: Renner from:1946 till:1949 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text: Figl I from:1949 till:1952 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text:Figl II from:1952 till:1953 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text:Figl III from:1953 till:1956 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text: Raab I from:1956 till:1959 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text:Raab II from:1959 till:1960 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text:Raab III from:1960 till:1961 shift:($dx,-2) color:ÖVP text:Raab IV from:1961 till:1963 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text: Gorbach I from:1963 till:1964 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text:Gorbach II from:1964 till:1966 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text: Klaus I from:1966 till:1970 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text:Klaus II from:1970 till:1971 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text: Kreisky I from:1971 till:1975 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text:Kreisky II from:1975 till:1979 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text:Kreisky III from:1979 till:1983 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text:Kreisky IV from:1983 till:1986 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text: Sinowatz from:1986 till:1987 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text: Vranitzky I from:1987 till:1990 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text:Vranitzky II from:1990 till:1994 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text:Vranitzky III from:1994 till:1996 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text:Vranitzky IV from:1996 till:1997 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text:Vranitzky V from:1997 till:2000 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text: Klima from:2000 till:2003 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text: Schüssel I from:2003 till:2007 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text: Schüssel II from:2007 till:2008 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text: Gusenbauer from:2008 till:2013 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text: Faymann I from:2013 till:2016 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text: Faymann II from:2016 till:2017 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text: Kern from:2017 till:2019 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text: Kurz I from:2019 till:2020 shift:($dx,$dy) color:independent text: Bierlein from:2020 till:2021 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text: Kurz II from:2021 till:2021 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text: Schallenberg from:2021 till:end shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text: Nehammer


Select list of other SPÖ politicians

*
Josef Broukal Josef may refer to * Josef (given name) * Josef (surname) * ''Josef'' (film), a 2011 Croatian war film * Musik Josef, a Japanese manufacturer of musical instruments {{disambiguation ...
, journalist and
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
*
Josef Cap Josef may refer to *Josef (given name) *Josef (surname) * ''Josef'' (film), a 2011 Croatian war film *Musik Josef Musik Josef is a Japanese manufacturer of musical instruments. It was founded by Yukio Nakamura, and is the only company in Japan spe ...
, head of the parliamentary club (''Klubobmann'') *
Johanna Dohnal Johanna Dohnal (14 February 1939 - 20 February 2010) was an Austrian politician and the first Austrian Minister for Women. Personal life Dohnal was born in Vienna on 14 February 1939 to a single mother. On 22 January 2010 she entered into a civ ...
, the first minister for women's affairs during the government of
Bruno Kreisky Bruno Kreisky (; 22 January 1911 – 29 July 1990) was an Austrian social democratic politician who served as Foreign Minister from 1959 to 1966 and as Chancellor from 1970 to 1983. Aged 72 at the end of his chancellorship, he was the oldest ...
*
Christoph Matznetter Christoph Matznetter (born 8 June 1959 in Vienna) is an Austrian politician. He has been a member of the Austrian Parliament since 2002. His service in parliament was interrupted by a brief tenure from 2007 to 2008 as State Secretary in the Feder ...
, budget and financial matters spokesman in the National Council *
Barbara Prammer Barbara Prammer (née Thaller; 11 January 1954 – 2 August 2014) was an Austrian politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ). In 2006 she was the first woman to become President of the National Council of Austria, an ...
, first female
National Council President of Austria National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...


Minority factions

Some groups within the SPÖ such as
Der Funke ''Der Funke'' (, "The Spark") was a daily newspaper published from Berlin, Germany, from 1932 to 1933. It was the national organ of the International Socialist Struggle League (ISK). The ISK leader Willi Eichler was the editor-in-chief of ''Der ...
(The Spark) are
Marxist Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialecti ...
and proponents of a radical strain of
democratic socialism Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within ...
.
SJ Austria The Socialist Youth Austria (german: Sozialistische Jugend Österreich, SJÖ) is a socialist youth organisation in Austria. While not part of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), there is a close relationship between the two organisation ...
, a youth organisation maintaining close relations with the party, is generally perceived of as being more towards the left-wing than the SPÖ itself.


Election results


Imperial Council


Constituent National Assembly


National Council


Presidency


European Parliament


State Parliaments


Results timeline


See also

*
Austro-Marxism Austromarxism (also stylised as Austro-Marxism) was a Marxist theoretical current, led by Victor Adler, Otto Bauer, Karl Renner, Max Adler and Rudolf Hilferding, members of the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria in Austria-Hungary an ...
*
Proletář ''Proletář'' was a publication issued in Brno, Moravia, which began publishing in 1910. Politically it adhered to the line of the Austrian Social Democracy. ''Proletář'' issued attacks against the Czechoslav Social Democratic Labour Party and ...
*
Socialist Students of Austria The Socialist Students of Austria (german: Verband Sozialistischer StudentInnen Österreichs, VSStÖ) is a socialist and social democratic student organization at Austrian universities. History The preliminary organization of the VSStÖ was fo ...


References


Literature

* Gordon Brook-Shepherd. ''The Austrians''. HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. London, 1995. . * Caspar Einem, Wolfgang Neugebauer, Andreas Schwarz. ''Der Wille zum aufrechten Gang''. Czernin Verlag, Vienna, 2005. (discussion on book is available online o
hagalil.com
. *
Maria Mesner Maria Mesner (born 1960) is an Austrian contemporary historian who heads the gender studies program at the University of Vienna. She is co-editor of the journal ''Österreichischen Zeitschrift für Geschichtswissenschaften'' (''Austrian Journal ...
(Ed.). ''Entnazifizierung zwischen politischem Anspruch, Parteienkonkurrenz und Kaltem Krieg: Das Beispiel der SPÖ''. Oldenbourg Verlag, Vienna, 2005. . * 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. . * Barbara Kaindl-Widhalm. ''Demokraten wider Willen? Autoritäre Tendenzen und Antisemitismus in der 2. Republik''. Verlag für Gesellschaftskritik, Vienna, 1990. *
Norbert Leser Norbert Leser (May 31, 1933 – December 31, 2014) was an Austrian jurist, political scientist and social philosopher best known for his lifelong affiliation with, and critical work on, the Social Democratic Party of Austria and Austromarxism in p ...
: ''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. . * Peter Pelinka. ''Eine kurze Geschichte der SPÖ. Ereignisse, Persönlichkeiten, Jahreszahlen''. Ueberreuter, Vienna, 2005. .


External links


Official website





Encyclopedia of the Viennese SPÖ



Otto Bauer – Austromarxism
{{DEFAULTSORT:Social Democratic Party Of Austria 1889 establishments in Austria Centre-left parties in Europe Political parties in Austria Political parties established in 1889 Social democratic parties in Austria Pro-European political parties in Austria