Vienna party leaders reach secret deal on leadership challenge
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Social Democratic leadership in the capital has reached an agreement on the party's future, though they have opted to keep the details secret until Sunday. The timing is deliberate: the national party must decide whether Andreas Babler remains the right leader, or if Gerhard Zeiler’s claim that he is the better alternative has merit.
The party appears to be campaigning against itself as much as its rivals. While the Social Democrats and the conservative ÖVP manage their respective internal divisions, the Freedom Party under Herbert Kickl waits to see which mainstream party will inadvertently facilitate his path to the chancellery.
Away from the tactical maneuvering in Vienna, the public is preparing for a winter of high energy costs. The current advice for citizens involves seven ways to save power, a practical necessity as the political class focuses on whether the party base still supports its frontbencher.