By Francois Murphy
VIENNA, Oct 4 (Reuters) – Austrian Vice Chancellor Andreas Babler said on Sunday he would quit as the second-highest government official and as leader of the ruling Social Democratic Party next year, bowing to growing unrest within the party over its slide in opinion polls.
The Social Democrats are the second party in a three-way government led by conservative Chancellor Christian Stocker that was formed last year after the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) won the most seats in a parliamentary election for the first time but was unable to forge a ruling coalition.
While the three-party government’s formation shut the FPO out of power, the FPO has only gained ground in opinion polls since then. Its support is now running around 38%, more than the Social Democrats and Stocker’s People’s Party combined.
Speculation about Babler’s potential departure grew as the Social Democrats’ support kept sliding. Recent opinion polls put it on 15%, a fall of about 6 points since the last parliamentary election in September 2024.
“Public debates over who the leader should be are not good for political parties. Public disputes are not good for political parties,” Babler told a press conference after a day of meetings among senior party figures, adding that the debate over whether he should quit was a distraction.
“I am convinced this must end,” he said.
Finance Minister Markus Marterbauer, who is undergoing treatment for cancer, will replace Babler as vice chancellor early next year and Babler will step down as party leader at the same time, Babler said, adding that he could not say which week the change would happen in.
(Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
