Social Democratic Party of Austria facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Social Democratic Party of Austria Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs
Abbreviation	SPÖ
Chairperson	Andreas Babler
Parliamentary leader	Andreas Babler & Philip Kucher
Managing director	Klaus Seltenheim & Sandra Breiteneder
Notable deputy chairpersons	See list Doris Bures Eva-Maria Holzleitner Peter Kaiser Andreas Schieder Selma Yildirim
Founder	Victor Adler
Founded	1 January 1889; 136 years ago (1889-01-01)
Headquarters	Löwelstraße 18, 1040 Vienna
Student wing	Socialist Students of Austria
Youth wing	Junge Generation, Socialist Youth Austria
Paramilitary wing	Republikanischer Schutzbund (1923–1934)
Membership (2023)	c. 140,000
Ideology	Social democracy
Political position	Centre-left
European affiliation	Party of European Socialists
International affiliation	Progressive Alliance
European Parliament group	Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
Colours	Red
Anthem	"Lied der Arbeit" "Song of Labour"
National Council	40 / 183
Federal Council	18 / 60
Governorships	3 / 9
State cabinets	5 / 9
State diets	133 / 440
European Parliament	5 / 19
Party flag

The Social Democratic Party of Austria (in German: Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs), often called SPÖ, is a political party in Austria. It was started in 1889 as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria. This makes it the oldest political party still active in Austria today.

The SPÖ is known as a social democratic party. This means it believes in things like fairness, equality, and helping everyone in society. It is considered a centre-left party.

Since June 2023, Andreas Babler has been the leader of the party. The SPÖ is currently the second largest party in the National Council, which is like Austria's main parliament. It has 40 out of 183 seats. The party also has members in the parliaments of all nine Austrian states. It is the biggest party in three of these states: Burgenland, Carinthia, and Vienna.

The SPÖ supports Austria being a member of the European Union. It is also part of bigger groups of similar parties in Europe and around the world. These include the Party of European Socialists and the Progressive Alliance. The SPÖ works closely with groups that represent workers, like the Austrian Trade Union Federation.

A Brief History of the SPÖ

The SPÖ has played a very important role in Austrian politics for a long time. It was founded in 1889. At the start of World War I, it was the strongest party in Austria's parliament.

After World War I ended in 1918, the party leader, Karl Renner, became the head of the government for a short time. This was during the First Austrian Republic. Even when the SPÖ was not in power, it had many supporters.

In the 1920s, the party was very popular. About 15% of all Austrians were part of a group linked to the SPÖ. In 1929, it had 720,000 members. The party was especially strong among working-class people.

"Red Vienna"

From 1919 to 1934, the Social Democrats were in charge of the city of Vienna. During this time, Vienna became known as "Red Vienna". The city government started many new projects to help people. They built 60,000 new homes for workers. They also made medical care free for everyone. New taxes were put on high incomes and luxury goods to pay for these services.

The city also focused on culture and education for working-class people. Many cinemas and theaters opened with support from the city. Sports also became more available to everyone. This period was a unique time when socialist ideas were put into practice in a big city.

Difficult Times and Rebuilding

In 1934, the democratic system in Austria was overthrown by another political party. The Social Democrats and Communists tried to fight back, but their resistance was quickly stopped. The SPÖ was banned and not allowed to exist during this time. This ban continued when Nazi Germany took over Austria in 1938, leading to World War II.

After World War II ended in 1945, the party was started again. It was renamed the Socialist Party of Austria (SPÖ). Adolf Schärf became its leader. The SPÖ joined the government of the Second Republic. They worked with another major party, the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), until 1966. Karl Renner, the former leader, became the first President of Austria in the new republic.

Party membership of SPÖ over time, since 1945. The peak was reached in 1970s. Since 1986 the party is rapidly declining.

Leading the Country

From 1971 to 1983, the SPÖ was the only party in charge of the government. This was under the leadership of Bruno Kreisky. He was the Chancellor and won three elections in a row.

From 1987 to 2000, the SPÖ led a "grand coalition" with the ÖVP. This meant the two biggest parties worked together to govern. In 1991, the party changed its name back to the Social Democratic Party of Austria.

After 2000, the SPÖ was in opposition for a while. However, one of its members, Heinz Fischer, was elected president in 2004. The party was part of the government again from 2007 to 2017. Since 2017, the SPÖ has been the main opposition party.

Recent Changes

In early 2023, there was a discussion within the party about its future direction. This led to a new election for the party leader. Andreas Babler, the mayor of Traiskirchen, became the new leader in June 2023.

Looking at the Past (1938-1945)

The SPÖ has looked closely at its role during the time of Nazi Germany (1938-1945). Even though the party was banned, some former members joined the Nazi Party. The SPÖ opened its records to understand this period better.

In 2005, a report was published about these "brown spots" in the party's history. This report talked about former SPÖ members who became part of the Nazi Party.

Leaders like President Heinz Fischer have also spoken openly about Austria's past. He said that the idea of Austria being only a "victim" of Nazi Germany was not entirely true. He pointed out that Austrian Jewish victims were not mentioned in some important declarations after the war. He also said it took too long for victims to receive help. This shows how Austria and its political parties have worked to understand their history honestly.

Chairpersons since 1945

The chart below shows a timeline of the social-democratic chairpersons and the Chancellors of Austria since 1945. The left bar shows all the chairpersons (Bundesparteivorsitzende, abbreviated as CP) of the SPÖ, and the right bar shows the corresponding make-up of the Austrian government at that time. The red (SPÖ) and black (ÖVP) colours correspond to which party led the federal government (Bundesregierung, abbreviated as Govern.). The last names of the respective chancellors are shown, with the Roman numeral standing for the cabinets.

Other Important SPÖ Politicians

Here are some other well-known politicians from the SPÖ:

• Josef Broukal, a journalist and member of parliament.
• Josef Cap, who used to lead the party's group in parliament.
• Johanna Dohnal, who was the first minister for women's affairs.
• Christoph Matznetter, who speaks for the party on money matters.
• Barbara Prammer, who was the first female president of the National Council.

Groups Within the SPÖ

Like many big parties, the SPÖ has different groups within it. Some groups, like Der Funke (which means "The Spark"), have more radical socialist ideas. The youth group, SJ Austria, is also seen as being more left-wing than the main party.

Election Results

The SPÖ has taken part in many elections throughout its history. These include elections for the Imperial Council, the National Assembly, the National Council, the Presidency, and the European Parliament. They also participate in elections for the state parliaments across Austria.

National Council Election Results

Election	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Government
1920	1,072,709	36.0 (#2)	69 / 183	3	Opposition
1923	1,311,870	39.6 (#2)	68 / 165	1	Opposition
1927	1,539,635	43.3 (#2)	71 / 165	3	Opposition
1930	1,517,146	41.1 (#1)	72 / 165	1	Opposition
1945	1,434,898	44.6 (#2)	76 / 165	4	ÖVP–SPÖ–KPÖ majority
1949	1,623,524	38.7 (#2)	67 / 165	9	ÖVP–SPÖ majority
1953	1,818,517	42.1 (#1)	73 / 165	6	ÖVP–SPÖ majority
1956	1,873,295	43.0 (#2)	74 / 165	1	ÖVP–SPÖ majority
1959	1,953,935	44.8 (#1)	78 / 165	4	ÖVP–SPÖ majority
1962	1,960,685	44.0 (#2)	76 / 165	2	ÖVP–SPÖ majority
1966	1,928,985	42.6 (#2)	74 / 165	2	Opposition
1970	2,221,981	48.4 (#1)	81 / 165	7	SPÖ minority supported by FPÖ
1971	2,280,168	50.0 (#1)	93 / 183	12	SPÖ majority
1975	2,326,201	50.1 (#1)	93 / 183		SPÖ majority
1979	2,413,226	51.0 (#1)	95 / 183	2	SPÖ majority
1983	2,312,529	47.6 (#1)	90 / 183	5	SPÖ–FPÖ majority
1986	2,092,024	43.1 (#1)	80 / 183	10	SPÖ–ÖVP majority
1990	2,012,787	42.8 (#1)	80 / 183		SPÖ–ÖVP majority
1994	1,617,804	34.9 (#1)	65 / 183	15	SPÖ–ÖVP majority
1995	1,843,474	38.1 (#1)	71 / 183	6	SPÖ–ÖVP majority
1999	1,532,448	33.2 (#1)	65 / 183	6	Opposition
2002	1,792,499	36.5 (#2)	69 / 183	4	Opposition
2006	1,663,986	35.3 (#1)	68 / 183	1	SPÖ–ÖVP majority
2008	1,430,206	29.3 (#1)	57 / 183	9	SPÖ–ÖVP majority
2013	1,258,605	26.8 (#1)	52 / 183	5	SPÖ–ÖVP majority
2017	1,351,918	26.9 (#2)	52 / 183		Opposition
2019	1,011,868	21.2 (#2)	40 / 183	12	Opposition

Presidency Election Results

European Parliament Election Results

Election	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
1996	1,105,910	29.2 (#2)	6 / 21
1999	888,338	31.7 (#1)	7 / 21	1
2004	833,517	33.3 (#1)	7 / 18
2009	680,041	23.7 (#2)	4 / 17	3
2014	680,180	24.1 (#2)	5 / 18	1
2019	903,151	23.9 (#2)	5 / 18

Images for kids

• 

  Flag of the Social Democratic Party of Austria

See Also

• Austro-Marxism
• Proletář
• Socialist Students of Austria