New club chairman of the Greens: Prack sees opportunities in Vienna!

New club chairman of the Greens: Prack sees opportunities in Vienna!

Georg Prack has been inaugurated as the new club chairman of the Vienna Greens. In his inaugural speech on June 2, 2025, he made it clear that his goal is to make the Greens the “leading opposition party” in Vienna. He sees himself as a “constructive counterpart” to the new red-pink city government and thanked his predecessor, David Ellensohn, for his 15 years of leadership of the Green Town Hall Club. He also thanked the two current city councilors, Judith Pühringer and Peter Kraus, for their commitment to the city government, but wants to bury the hope that the Greens will participate in government as a result of the agreement between the SPÖ and NEOS, which will continue their cooperation.

In Vienna, the SPÖ continues to be the party with the largest number of votes after the local council elections and has remained at the top of the political landscape since 1945. Mayor Michael Ludwig, who leads the SPÖ, has ruled out a coalition with the Freedom Party (FPÖ). The ÖVP, the Greens and the NEOS are possible coalition partners. All three parties have governed together with the SPÖ in the past and are ready to act in a junior role again.

Current political situation and coalition talks

After the election, in which the SPÖ received 39.4 percent of the vote and 43 seats, exploratory talks were held with the NEOS, the Greens and the ÖVP. The NEOS are considered the most likely partners, as the cooperation so far has gone without any major problems and they have repeatedly expressed their willingness to continue the red-pink coalition. Despite slight losses in the election, the SPÖ sees itself as a clear winner alongside the second-placed FPÖ, which received 20.4 percent of the vote and over 22 mandates. This constellation allows the SPÖ, in cooperation with the Greens, a comfortable majority of a total of 58 seats in the local council.

However, it is also pointed out that, although the Greens have a lot of overlap in content with the SPÖ, there are tensions in their cooperation. For Prack it is clear that the Greens can also push forward their own projects and possibly win more districts. A central concern remains the demand for a vacancy tax, which is rejected by both the ÖVP and the NEOS. Climate protection is also a priority for the Greens, such as the proposed Climate Protection Act, which aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2040.

The SPÖ state party executive will announce decisions on negotiations for the future city government on Monday. A corresponding press conference is scheduled for 12.30 p.m. in the SPÖ club rooms in Vienna City Hall, at which the further course of the coalition talks and the final composition of the city government will be announced.

Overall, the current situation in Vienna reflects a dynamic political landscape. While the SPÖ holds on to its leadership, the role of the Greens and their influence in the future city government will be crucial.

For further details: Kleine Zeitung, Profil, SN.