Core Teams of Vienna SPÖ and NEOS at the Table: "Currently No Obstacles in Sight"

In the morning, the core team consisting of the party leaders first met in the office of Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ), after which discussions on the continuation of the red-pink coalition were to be held in a larger group. The SPÖ committees had given the green light for the start of negotiations on Monday. The city reds have been governing with the NEOS since 2020.

Red-pink coalition negotiations started with core team meeting

The Vienna election on April 27 ended with a slight loss for the SPÖ, but a coalition would be possible with all parties represented in the city council. Before deciding on the NEOS, Ludwig initially invited for exploratory talks. He also held discussions with the Greens and the ÖVP. Only the FPÖ was excluded as a coalition partner.

For the SPÖ, in addition to Ludwig, state party secretary Barbara Novak and club chairman Josef Taucher participated in the meeting today. They were also involved in the exploratory talks. The NEOS team remained largely unchanged: Education City Councillor Bettina Emmerling, club leader Selma Arapovic, and state manager Philipp Kern were present. Only the state spokesperson, Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr, did not participate today.

The focus today is primarily on planning the next rounds of negotiations, it was emphasized in advance. Emmerling was quite optimistic that there would be a renewal of the red-pink coalition. "Currently, there are no stumbling blocks," she said upon arrival in response to a related question.

Decision on departments after content agreement

The NEOS emphasized during the election campaign that they would like to be responsible for education again. Today, Emmerling explained that they would first discuss content. A joint program will be created. "Only afterwards will it be about departmental responsibilities."

The detailed schedule of the negotiations is yet to be finalized. However, Ludwig announced on Monday that he would like to conclude the talks within three weeks. The first working session in a larger group is expected to take place immediately after today's core team meeting in the mayor's office.

Subgroups already divided

Late in the morning, an agreement on the subgroups was already announced. According to Ludwig, it was decided that the topics would be negotiated along the current business division. He himself will continue to lead the SPÖ team, he announced. Novak, Taucher, and the current city councilors will be primarily responsible for the individual chapters for the SPÖ.

Specifically, Novak was entrusted with the areas of finance, economy, labor, and public utilities. The relevant department will be led on an interim basis by the previous finance director Christoph Maschek after City Councilor Peter Hanke moves to the federal level. Taucher will take over the negotiations in the areas of education, youth, and integration - for which the NEOS are currently responsible in the city government.

The remaining topics will be handled by the responsible red city councilors from the SPÖ. Peter Hacker will lead the discussions on health and social affairs, Kathrin Gaal those on housing, urban renewal, and women. Ulli Sima will oversee transport and urban planning, Jürgen Czernohorszky among others climate and environment, and Veronica Kaup-Hasler culture and science.

Satisfaction after initial rounds of talks

Some of the topics were already discussed today. After the end of the first rounds, the participants were satisfied with the progress. "We had an excellent coalition climate in the past period. Therefore, I expect that we can agree on the key points very, very quickly so that we can deliver quickly as specified by the mayor," said Environment City Councilor Czernohorszky. There are common goals, but also many challenges.

Health City Councilor Hacker assured that there is no need to worry about the health system, but the budgetary situation of the republic also impacts Vienna. Culture City Councilor Kaup-Hasler reaffirmed that they want to continue the smooth cooperation with the NEOS. Emmerling also stated after leaving the mayor's office: "It went very well." Negotiations are "constructive and on an equal footing."

Meanwhile, the presidium of the People's Party nominated the Vice President of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce and Member of Parliament Kasia Greco as the future city councilor. The acting state party chairman and district leader of the Inner City, Markus Figl, praised Greco's economic and health expertise. She brings a wide range of expertise, said Figl.

In Vienna, the city government is appointed according to the proportional or proportional representation system. With the peculiarity that according to the city constitution, all parties represented in the municipal council are entitled to government posts "according to their strength," but these are not all associated with departmental responsibility. The city councilors are formally elected at the inaugural meeting of the Vienna Municipal Council.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.