Vienna coalition is about to be concluded – majority in danger!

Vienna coalition is about to be concluded – majority in danger!

The coalition negotiations between the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) and the NEOS in Vienna are nearing completion. Those involved are expecting an agreement in the coming days, which should take place in a constructive atmosphere. In addition to the time pressure, specific content or personnel determinations are not yet publicly known, which increases uncertainty. The central topics of the negotiations are the future composition of the city senate, in which the balance of power has changed radically as a result of the recent elections.

How Cosmo reports, after the election results on April 27, 2025, the SPÖ will only enter the negotiations with five seats, which corresponds to a loss of one mandate. The NEOS also retained one seat, while the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) received three mandates and the ÖVP gave up one seat. The Greens remain with two seats. These changes lead to a new balance of power in the city senate, which is now 6:6. In order to still secure a majority, two options can be considered: expanding the body to 13 seats, whereby the SPÖ would retain six seats, or reducing it to ten seats, whereby both the FPÖ and the Greens would lose one mandate each.

Dynamic negotiations

Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) describes the negotiations as dynamic and his statements show that both parties are trying to establish a sustainable cooperation. However, Vice Mayor Bettina Emmerling (NEOS) avoids commenting on content or personnel issues, which further fuels public tension.

As a reminder: In the last elections on November 24, 2020, the SPÖ ran in a coalition with the NEOS. The negotiations at that time resulted in a comprehensive coalition paper that was approved with 95.15% approval. This led to a new city senate constellation under the leadership of Michael Ludwig and Christoph Wiederkehr.

Past and outlook

In the context of the ongoing negotiations, it is important to mention that the last coalition negotiations for the 21st electoral term, which began on October 11, 2020, were concluded on November 15, 2020 after intensive discussions. The coalition at the time created various key departments and brought with it some personnel changes. With the imminent conclusion of the current negotiations, politics in Vienna is facing new challenges in a highly polarized environment.

The timing of the public presentation of the coalition pact is still unclear, but many are hoping for a quick clarification in order to keep the city senate able to act. The development will present both the SPÖ and the NEOS with important strategic decisions in order to shape the future of the city of Vienna. Further information on this can be found at ORF Vienna and in the comprehensive compilation Wikipedia.