NEOS ready for explorations: coalition with SPÖ within reach!

NEOS ready for explorations: coalition with SPÖ within reach!

Wien, Österreich - On April 29, 2025, the NEOS in Vienna decided to continue to be available as a potential coalition partner of the SPÖ. The NEOS committees unanimously voted for exploratory talks with the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ). State spokesman and Minister of Education Christoph Return in this context confirmed the willingness to cooperate and congratulated the SPÖ Mayor Michael Ludwig on the election victory.

The NEOS achieved a historical result with a voting share of around 10 percent in the recent Vienna election, which is an increase of 2.53 percentage points compared to the last election. The analysis of the election results shows that the NEOs have won voices in all 23 Vienna districts, especially in the districts dominated by the Conservative People's Party (ÖVP). This is the first time that the NEOS could reach a basic mandate in the Donaustadt.

The negotiation team

The Neos negotiation team for the explorations is made up of several key persons: Christoph Return, Bettina Emmerling (Vice Mayor), Selma Arapovic (club chief), Jacqueline Löschel (office manager of Emmerling), Philipp Kern (Landesustleuhr), Markus Ornig (municipal council) (municipal council). The team was presented to negotiate about the continuation of the previous coalition, which is popularly referred to as a punch crowl coalition.

Return emphasized that the NEOS will not formulate any concrete claims or red lines in this discussions in order to protect confidentiality and a productive atmosphere. Nevertheless, he expressed the desire for a "real catch -up" in education and support for companies, at the same time education remains a central concern of the NEOS.

future steps

The first informal discussions between the Neos and the SPÖ have already taken place, but the appointment for the official exploratory round is still pending. The Minister of Education emphasized that the NEOS achieved all their goals from the last election campaigns, with the exception of the remaining in the city government.

In the further context of national politics, a triple coalition between the ÖVP, the SPÖ and the NEOS is currently negotiated, which would represent an unprecedented step in Austrian politics. ÖVP boss Christian Stocker is acted as a future chancellor, while SPÖ boss Andreas Babler could act as vice-chancellor. An agreement on the coalition program could still be made today and includes a work program of around 200 pages. The challenges of the political landscape are significant, not least because of the political crisis that Austria has experienced since the last parliamentary election in September 2024, and which increases the pressure on the negotiators.

The political decisions of the next few days will be of crucial importance for the future orientation of the city of Vienna and the entire Austrian government.

For more information on the negotiations and the political Situation in Austria, you can do the articles at Vol.at , meinbezirk.at and read daily show.de