ÖVP Celebrates 80th Anniversary - SPÖ Does Not
With the end of World War II, the ÖVP and SPÖ were re-established in 1945. While the former celebrates its 80th anniversary with an event at its founding location, the latter does not commemorate the anniversary. After all, the SPÖ already celebrated its 150th birthday in 2024, based on a different event. The other parliamentary parties are much younger.
Celebration Event in Vienna
On April 16, one day before the 80th founding anniversary of the ÖVP, the Vienna City Academy invites to a celebration event. This starts with a mass in the Schottenkirche, and the subsequent event at the Schottenstift is under the motto "80 Years of the People's Party - 80 Years of Responsibility for Austria". The federal party conference at the end of March, where Chancellor Christian Stocker was elected ÖVP leader for the first time, was also marked by the 80th anniversary. The Campus Tivoli (formerly Political Academy) displayed an exhibition with life-sized cardboard figures of the ÖVP chairmen. Additionally, it published a book titled "Everything for Austria - How the People's Party Has Been Making History for 80 Years", which traces the party's milestones.
While the Christian-social camp founded a new party with the ÖVP, the SPÖ in 1945 more clearly linked to the social democratic tradition of the interwar period. There are no events planned by the SPÖ federal party for the re-establishment anniversary, according to the APA. After all, the party already celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2024 - in Neudörfl, Burgenland (district Mattersburg), delegates of the workers' associations gathered in 1874 and developed a first party program. 80 years ago, on April 14, 1945, the "Socialist Party of Austria" was formed. In the "Red Salon" of the Vienna City Hall, social democrats and "Revolutionary Socialists" met and united. Since 1991, the party has also been social democratic in name.
ÖVP and SPÖ Oldest Parliamentary Parties
The KPÖ was founded in 1918, and together with the ÖVP and SPÖ, it was part of the concentration government after the war, but it has not been represented in the National Council since 1959. The other parties are younger: The FPÖ has existed since 1955, its predecessor was the Association of Independents (VdU) founded in 1949, in which, among others, former National Socialists were active. The Greens were founded in 1986, and the NEOS as the youngest parliamentary party in 2012.
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.