Sozialdemokraten: Babler kündigt Rückzug als Österreichs Vizekanzler an
Finanzminister Marterbauer soll stellvertretender Regierungschef werden – doch seine Ernennung hängt von einer laufenden Krebstherapie ab. Auch andere Fragen bleiben vorerst offen.
In Vienna, Austria's Deputy Chancellor and Social Democrat Party leader Andreas Babler announced his resignation from both positions in the coming months. The 53-year-old SPÖ chief had recently been facing pressure within his own party due to weak poll results. "We must manage to pull everyone together again," he said about the SPÖ leadership debate.
Babler proposed Finance Minister Markus Marterbauer as the new Deputy Chancellor during a party meeting in Vienna. The transfer is expected to take place at the beginning of 2027, but the exact date remains uncertain due to Marterbauer's ongoing cancer treatment. Marterbauer, aged 61, is considered a respected economist with high public trust.
Babler also intends to hand over the party leadership to a temporary management during the New Year's holiday. A new chairman will be determined in the spring. However, Babler plans to remain the Minister for Housing, Culture, Media, and Sport in the coalition government of conservative ÖVP, SPÖ, and the liberal Neos. He informed the coalition partners about the personnel changes himself. Chancellor Christian Stocker (ÖVP) emphasized in an initial statement: "Party internal discussions must not affect government work."
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
