NEOS Vienna: What the election campaign costs of 2.8 million euros reveal

NEOS Vienna: What the election campaign costs of 2.8 million euros reveal

On April 19, 2025, NEOS Vienna published their preliminary election advertising costs for the upcoming Vienna election campaign. The party spent 2,803,546.20 euros, an amount that does not exceed the statutory limit of five million euros and also remains within the communicated three million euros during the election campaign. This disclosure is part of a transparency reform initiated by NEOS Vienna. Under this reform, political parties are required to publish their preliminary expenditure a week before election day in order to provide citizens with a clear overview of finances.

The NEOS emphasize that transparency is a central pillar of a fair and modern democracy. There are clear legal consequences for non-compliance or overspending designed to ensure the integrity of the electoral process. OTS reported that this approach is seen as a way to strengthen trust in the political landscape.

Rules for party donations in Germany

In the context of political transparency, Germany is also an important example to consider. In a recent analysis by Deutschlandfunk It is shown that the origin of 77 percent of party donations and elected representatives' contributions in 2022 remained unknown. Transparency International criticizes that the large number of uncontrollable large donations endangers trust in democracy. This is worrying, especially as Germany has fallen six places to position 15 in the corruption perception index.

Although there are clear rules for party financing, much remains unclear. Donations under 10,000 euros do not have to be listed in the annual report. The reporting limit for large donations was recently reduced from 50,000 euros to 35,000 euros. 88 major donations have already been registered for 2025. Nevertheless, a survey shows that the majority of Germans support capping party donations.

Calls for reforms

Despite the existing regulations, reputation-damaging practices cannot be ruled out. Transparent party financing policies are in focus and Kevin Kühnert is calling for a discussion about the gaps in the party financing system, especially after large donations were made to the BSW in the past. The problem of the traceability of donations remains highly topical, while NEOS Vienna is showing with its reform what transparency can look like in politics.

In summary, the developments in Vienna and the situation in Germany illustrate how important transparency and clear regulations in party financing are in order to strengthen citizens' trust in the political system.