NEOS want to defend their seat on the government bench in the Vienna election 2025

For the Vienna NEOS, the upcoming Vienna election is once again a ballot with completely new conditions: While in 2015 it was about the (ultimately successful) entry into the town hall and the Pinks were able to secure their stay in the city parliament in 2020, they are now entering the race as a governing party. They are not only such in Vienna, but also at the federal level. The ministerial offices are held by the previous Vienna party leaders.

Vienna NEOS made the leap into the town hall in 2015

The top candidate in the first run in Vienna, Beate Meinl-Reisinger, was able to celebrate a 6.16 percent share of the vote and five mandates in 2015. However, she did not remain in the city parliament for the entire period, but switched to the National Council in 2018. After the surprising departure of party founder Matthias Strolz from politics, the previous state spokesperson was appointed to the top of the federal party. She also refrained from continuing to be the city party leader.

SPÖ chose NEOS as partner in last Vienna election

Her successor in the federal capital was Christoph Wiederkehr. He also focused on core issues such as education, transparency, control, debureaucratization, or measures for small entrepreneurs. At just 30 years old, he was able to complete his first election as a top candidate in 2020. He recorded a small increase in votes and a gain of three mandates. However, the decisive factor was: The NEOS were able to displace the Greens from the government bench.

The SPÖ under Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) decided against further cooperation with the eco-party and forged a contract with the city Pinks. This was publicly sealed with an oversized punch cake and considerable distance - the coronavirus pandemic was in full swing. Wiederkehr became Deputy Mayor and City Councilor for Education, Integration, and Youth in the "Progress Coalition".

Education policy as a central pink theme

The fight against the pandemic initially also created a highly unplanned focus. However, the two government partners pulled together, and it was only towards the end that one or the other measure - keyword mask mandate in public transport - was criticized by the NEOS as excessive. Otherwise, they largely refrained from publicly aired disputes. Criticism of the partner was, if at all, only cautiously articulated. The NEOS at least let it be known that they did not find the crisis management in the Vienna Energy case particularly optimal.

Otherwise, the focus was on those departments that the Neo(s) city councilor had to take care of. For example, the education sector. After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Vienna's schools had to organize the admission of numerous refugee children. Later, family reunification - mostly of people who had come to Austria from Syria - further exacerbated the already overwhelmed Viennese school system. Wiederkehr tried to counteract this with mobile classes and more intensive language support.

He also called for penalties for uncooperative parents or a residency requirement for asylum seekers without a job. Affected individuals would have had to stay for a certain period in the federal states where they were residing during the procedure. This was intended to reduce the influx to Vienna. He also restructured the kindergarten department.

For a department that they regularly mocked while in opposition, the NEOS promptly became responsible themselves after entering the government: The MA 35, responsible for immigration and citizenship, which had made headlines not least because of excessively long waiting times. Wiederkehr tried to improve the situation with reforms and more staff.

Turbulent Start to the Year with New Top Candidate for Vienna Election 2025

The year 2025 has so far been unexpectedly turbulent for the NEOS. Initially, the coalition had still decided in harmonious unity to move the election forward from autumn to April, also with a view to an impending FPÖ-ÖVP coalition under a Federal Chancellor Herbert Kickl. But things turned out differently, as both SPÖ and NEOS eventually found themselves in a federal government - including Wiederkehr himself.

The Vienna state spokesperson was appointed Minister of Education, his predecessor in Vienna, Beate Meinl-Reisinger, became Foreign Minister. Wiederkehr was nominated a few days after being elected by the NEOS base as the top candidate for the Vienna Election. After a short period of consideration, he ultimately decided not to run in Vienna. However, he remains the head of the city NEOS. Since his departure, the previous club chairwoman Bettina Emmerling has been the Deputy Mayor and City Councilor for Education.

(APA/Red)

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