In the election for the new SPÖ party leader, the result was reversed – the next farce after numerous political scandals in Austria. This level of operetta allows distrust of the democratic center to run rampant.
The political malaise of the center benefits the radical fringes on both sides of the political divide. Austria will no longer be able to muddle through as a sloppy republic as before, writes Jurgen Schulte. "Austria's political landscape is characterized by coziness, cronyism and the tendency to let all fives be straight over a few bottles"