SPÖ victory in Vienna: What is the city government now?

SPÖ victory in Vienna: What is the city government now?

In the current municipal council election in Vienna, the SPÖ has reached first place under Mayor and top candidate Michael Ludwig, according to preliminary results with almost 40 percent of the vote. However, this gratifying development is accompanied by some political observers as a bitter aftertaste, since the SPÖ used risky tactics in its election campaign, which could possibly be beneficial to the right -wing populists in the long term. This could further exacerbate the growing problems of the city, such as rising rental prices and educational deficits, which were hardly discussed in the election campaign, according to the Zeit.

Ludwig was very satisfied with the election result and is already planning exploratory talks to form a stable city and state government before the summer. However, he categorically excluded a coalition with the FPÖ. Dominik Nepp, the top candidate of the FPÖ, spoke of an “enormous advance of trust” by the voters and announced that he would strengthen control in the opposition and to request Ludwig to end his exclusion policy, reports [OTS] (https://www.ots.at/presseaus-sung/ots_20250427_OTS0017/ Hintergrund-wien-wahl-2025-erste-der-der-top candidates).

reactions of the other parties

Judith Pühringer, the top candidate of the Greens, described the result as "fantastic" and sees it a clear order from voters for climate justice and social justice. It offers the Greens as a partner for a stable coalition. The Neos, represented by Vice Mayor Bettina Emmerling, are also happy about the best liberal result in Vienna. Emmerling referred to a 97 percent implementation of the projects in the government monitor and emphasized the success of the "progress coalition" in the education sector (https://www.ots.at/presseaus-sung/ots_20250427_OTS0017/ Hinttergrund-wahl-2025-er-reactions-der-Spitzen)

The ÖVP top candidate Karl Mahrer admitted that the ÖVP lost votes, but described the previous result of his party as exceptional. Mahrer emphasized that it was necessary to address the relevant topics for the voters, and offered cooperation, in particular on questions of the political center, economic stability and social cohesion, which is highlighted in the [Wiener Zeitung] (https://www.wienerzeitung.at/a/die-partner-wer-wer-wem-wem-

coalition options in focus

After the election, there are now various coalition options in the room. In the coming weeks, the party leaders will have to form a sustainable majority in the National Council. The questions are "Who wants with whom?" And "Who can with whom?" central. Programmatic differences are regarded as no insurmountable obstacle for cooperation, according to the Wiener Zeitung.

Analyzes show that the SPÖ and the Greens have the highest thematic agreement with 78%, while ÖVP and SPÖ only achieve 27%. This could further influence potential coalitions between the parties. Political scientists show that the ÖVP, SPÖ and Neos, despite their differences, could theoretically form a triple coalition, albeit with challenges. In particular, the high agreement in the subjects of FPÖ and ÖVP could facilitate a coalition between these two parties. The next few weeks will be crucial to see which partnerships are actually 形成.