The day after their counting disaster, the Austrian Social Democrats tried to create clarity and limit the damage. On Tuesday morning, the electoral commission of the SPÖ met in Vienna's Löwelstraße to recount the votes of the chairman election once again. Because it turned out on Monday that at the party congress the previous weekend the votes had been exchanged in such a grotesque way that Hans Peter Doskozil was wrongly proclaimed as the new SPÖ chairman. Andreas Babler received the most votes – this was confirmed with great determination on Tuesday, even if not all questions have been answered.
Stephan Löwenstein
Political correspondent based in Vienna.
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Babler had insisted on a recount in order to leave no doubt that the right person had now been named. Doskozil had already admitted his defeat on Monday evening and congratulated the rival. Henceforth, according to the statement of the provincial governor from Burgenland, the chapter of federal politics was closed for him. Babler is therefore SPÖ chairman, but in order to consolidate his legitimacy, a party congress is to be held in the autumn – with personnel decisions.
The appearance of the surprise winner was not triumphant even after his confirmation, but at least a little more relaxed than his short statement the evening before. Now he began to pluck the cuffs out from under his jacket, with a jokingly mumbled "have you learned something". His speech then fluctuated between contrition, because of the mistake, which has been ridiculed by the SPÖ from all over the world, and an attempt at a defiant departure, because he himself was not to blame for all the previous disputes and mishaps.
Change also in the electoral commission
"The mistake put us to shame," Babler began. He wanted to return "unity and pride and dignity" to his party, the promise was valid, and the past few days had shown "how bitterly necessary this is". The SPÖ is on the ground, but the future is open. His campaign shows the existing potential and a longing for "a clear program and just politics". In fact, several thousand new members joined the SPÖ during the survey, many of them declared to be because of Babler.
Prior to this, the 19 members of the electoral commission sat together for several hours on Tuesday to find out exactly what had happened. At Babler's request, they were not only to keep to themselves this time, a Viennese notary was consulted. During the meeting, it became known that the head of the commission, Michaela Grubesa, drew personal consequences. She resigned from this position and immediately left the meeting, which was still ongoing. She justified this by saying that she had failed to ensure a second count of the voting result at the party congress.
This was not the first change in this party body. At the beginning of May, the actually elected chairman of the electoral commission, Harry Kopietz, had resigned, citing health reasons, and had only made way for Grubesa. This was already a remarkable process, because it happened during the ongoing counting of the member survey.