TheSocial Democratic Party of Austria (German:Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs[soˈtsi̯aːldemoˌkraːtɪʃɛparˌtaɪˈøːstɐraɪçs],SPÖ) is asocial democratic[4][5][6]political party in Austria. Founded in 1889 as theSocial Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (German:Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Österreichs,SDAPÖ) and later known as theSocialist Party of Austria (German:Sozialistische Partei Österreichs) from 1945 until 1991,[7] the party is the oldest extant political party in Austria. Along with theAustrian People's Party (ÖVP), it is one of the country's two traditionalmajor parties. It is positioned on thecentre-left on the political spectrum.[8][9][10]
The SDAPÖ was the second largest party in theImperial Council of theAustro-Hungarian Empire from the 1890s through 1910s. After theFirst World War, it briefly governed theFirst Austrian Republic, but thereafter returned to opposition. The party was banned in 1934 following theAustrian Civil War, and was suppressed throughoutAustrofascism and theNazi period. The party was refounded as the Socialist Party of Austria in 1945 and governed as a junior partner of the ÖVP until 1966. In 1970, the SPÖ became the largest party for the first time in post-war history, andBruno Kreisky becameChancellor, winning three consecutive majorities (1971,1975, and1979). From 1987 to 2000 the SPÖ led a grand coalition with the ÖVP before returning to opposition for the first time in 30 years. The party governed again from 2007 to 2017. From 2017 to 2025, the SPÖ was the primary opposition to theÖVP governments of Sebastian Kurz,Alexander Schallenberg, andKarl Nehammer. Since 2025, the SPÖ has governed as a junior partner of the ÖVP, alongside theNEOS.
Since its foundation in 1889 as the SDAPÖ, the party has been one of the main political forces in Austria. At the start of theWorld War I, it was the strongest party in parliament. At the ending of that war in 1918, the party leaderKarl Renner becameChancellor of theFirst Republic. The SDAPÖ lost power in 1920, but it retained a strong base of support.[12][13][14]
After the break-up of theAustro-Hungarian Empire (1918), the Social Democratic Party supported for a time the idea of a union with Berlin in order to constitute a great democratic German republic, thus taking up arevolutionary project of 1848. The victors of the war did not see it that way and set the borders of Austria. In theinterwar period,Austromarxism, maintaining its particularities in the face of German social democracy – which had bloodily suppressed theSpartacist uprising of 1919 – and Soviet communism, envisaged the creation of a new international aimed at bringing together the different currents of socialism. However, the attempt did not succeed. The more left-wing Social Democrats, such asMax Adler, relied on theWorkers' councils that had developed throughout Central Europe in 1918–1919, particularly in Vienna.[15][14]
The SDAPÖ was the most established of the European social democratic parties. In the 1920s, about 15 percent of Austrians were members of an association linked to the party. In 1929, it had 720,000 members. The SDAPÖ was almost hegemonic among the working class, but could not compete with the conservatives in the countryside and small towns. Theeconomic crisis of the 1930s, which caused factory closures and increased unemployment, weakened the labor movement and with it the SDAPÖ. In 1930, its membership was down to 650,000 militants.[15][14]
From 1919 to February 1934, the Social Democrats were in continuous control of the Vienna municipality, which acquired the nickname "Red Vienna". The municipality developed an ambitious policy, including a vast program of construction of workers' housing, which included 60,000 communal social housing units. In addition, free medical care was introduced, and income and luxury taxes were introduced. Culture was clearly emphasized: "Arbeiterbildung" (working-class education and culture) reigned supreme, and the city was home to many internationally renowned intellectuals and artists. Numerous cinemas and theaters subsidized by the municipality opened their doors, and sports became more democratic. This socialist experiment, supported by some renowned intellectuals such asOtto Neurath andSigmund Freud, also inspired a violent disgust in conservative circles. The press readily described red Vienna as a "Jewish creation" in the hands of "Bolshevism".[15][16][14]
Party membership of SPÖ over time, since 1945. The peak was reached in 1970s. Since 1986 the party is rapidly declining.
In 1934, theChristian Social Party, the dominant party on the right, overthrew the democratic system and established an authoritariancorporatist regime inspired byfascism. The social democrats andcommunists put up armed resistance, but it was quickly crushed.[15]
From 1971 to 1983, the SPÖ underBruno Kreisky was the sole governing party. For the following three years, it ruled in coalition with theFreedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), then up to 2000 it was again part of a grand coalition with the ÖVP, withFranz Vranitzky as Chancellor until 1997. In 1991, it reverted to includingDemocratic in its name, becoming the Social Democratic Party of Austria (German:Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs). During this period, the grand coalition combined with theProporz system, whereby important posts throughout the government were shared out between members of the two main parties, evoked rising discontent. This was a factor in the growing popularity of the FPÖ which came second to the SPÖ in the1999 Austrian legislative election. The following year, the FPÖ and ÖVP formed aright-wing coalition, displacing the SPÖ from a share in government. While this coalition was still in power, the SPÖ'sHeinz Fischer was elected president in the2004 Austrian presidential election. Following the2006 Austrian legislative election, another grand coalition was formed between the SPÖ and the ÖVP, lasting until 2017, when the SPÖ went back to theopposition. In the2019 Austrian legislative election, the SPÖ lost 12 seats and shrunk to 21.2%.
After the lost state elections in Lower Austria and Carinthia at the beginning of 2023, there was a power struggle between the moderatesocial democratic party wing around party leaderPamela Rendi-Wagner and the right-wing,FPÖ-friendly party wing aroundBurgenland governorHans Peter Doskozil. The Social Democratic wing has support fromsocialists andcommunists. The right wing has support from the middle wing of the party. Disputes and disagreements have existed for years. In March 2023, the situation came to a head after the SPÖ Burgenland stopped paying money to the federal party. On 15 March 2023, a heated party executive meeting led to the call for a new party leadership election. The candidacy for the new leadership was heated and a surprise candidacy fromAndreas Babler, mayor ofTraiskirchen, which has led to some other candidates to withdraw their candidacy for the2023 Social Democratic Party of Austria leadership election. This election ended with a win of Andreas Babler. Two days before, Hans Peter-Doskozil had been mistakable introduced as a new party leader because of "a technical mistake in an Excel sheet"[17][18][19]
Concerning the role of the SDAPÖ duringNazi rule from 1938 to 1945, the party started opening its archives and set in a commission to investigate its past conduct. Despite the fact the SDAPÖ had been outlawed and many party members imprisoned underAustrofascism, many SDAPÖ members initially welcomed theAnschluss of Austria into Germany back then and some became members of theNazi Party.Alfred Gusenbauer issued a declaration promising and supporting a full and open investigation ("Klarheit in der Vergangenheit – Basis für die Zukunft"). In 2005, the report about the so-called "brown spots" (German:braune Flecken) was completed and published. The report talks about SDAPÖ members and leaders who became members of the Nazi Party during German rule after theAnschluss. One example given in the report is the case ofHeinrich Gross, who received many honours from the party and even the government in the post-war period. This was despite the fact that he worked as a Nazi doctor in theeuthanasia ward Am Spiegelgrund in Vienna, wherehuman experiments on children were performed. Those children with presumptive mental defects were eventually killed, often by lethalinjection. Gross was probably himself involved in the experimentations and killings. The Austrian judicial system protected him for a very long time from any kind of prosecution, something that was very typical in the post-war period. He enjoyed wide support from the SPÖ and party leaders for a very long time.
Reflecting the change in attitude towards the past, PresidentHeinz Fischer in a 10 April 2006 interview with the liberal newspaperDer Standard strongly criticised Austria's view on its historical role during Nazi rule. He called the traditional view that Austria was thefirst victim of Nazi aggression as false. TheMoscow Declaration of 1943 byémigrés which called for the independence of Austria from Nazi Germany was a problem since it stated that the war was neither started nor wanted by any Austrian ("Und das ist nicht richtig"), that Austrian Jewish victims were not mentioned in the declaration ("kein Wort für die jüdischen Opfer"), that it took decades for them to receive any kind of compensation and justice from the government and that it was regrettable and inexcusable. His statements were direct criticism of the right-wing government of the coalition ÖVP–FPÖ which rejected compensation to victims and the admission of the co-guilt Austrians carried for crimes committed by them during theSecond World War.
The chart below shows a timeline of the social-democratic chairpersons and theChancellors of Austria since 1945. The left bar shows all the chairpersons (Bundesparteivorsitzende, abbreviated asCP) of the SPÖ, and the right bar shows the corresponding make-up of the Austrian government at that time. The red (SPÖ) and black (ÖVP) colours correspond to which party led the federal government (Bundesregierung, abbreviated asGovern.). The last names of the respective chancellors are shown, with the Roman numeral standing for thecabinets.
After the founding of the SDAPÖ in 1889, a youth organization was established on 4 November 1894, with the purpose of protecting apprentices and addressing the concerns of young people within the party. Despite initial resistance from some SDAPÖ members, an independent socialist youth movement emerged. Today, this organization is known as theSocialist Youth Austria (SJÖ). The SJÖ notably chose not to change its name to "social-democratic" when the SPÖ rebranded itself in 1991, highlighting its independence both programmatically – as the SJÖ remainsdemocratic socialist rather thansocial-democratic like the SPÖ – and organizationally. Thisautonomy has often led to tensions between the SJÖ and the SPÖ, including instances where the party reduced the SJÖ'sfunding.[21] To address these issues, the SPÖ established a youth organization called theYoung Generation (JG) on 22 January 1958.[22]
The creation of the JG was not only a response to the disappointing results in the1956 national elections, particularly among young voters, but also an effort to manage the increasingly strained relationship with the SJÖ.[23] Over time, the JG has evolved into a parallel structure, closely aligned with the SPÖ and more in line with the party's objectives than the SJÖ.
Many influential politicians have emerged from the ranks of the SJÖ, including figures likeBruno Kreisky andAndreas Babler, who have significantly shaped the party's direction. However, the SJÖ is not the only youth organization that has produced notable leaders; the JG has also been a breeding ground for politicians who have gone on to make their mark on the SPÖ.
The SJÖ also has factions within its organization, such as theTrotskyist "Der Funke"(IMT) faction, which was active in the now-dissolved SJ9 (Alsergrund district)[24] and continues to be present in SJVorarlberg.[25] As a result of these events, tensions between all parties involved continue to this day.
Burgenland is a state that is a traditional stronghold of the SPÖ. Since 1964, the governors of this easternmost state have come from the SPÖ. Burgenland is one of the few states that are ruled by a SPÖ majority in the state assembly (Landtag). In 2000, the SPÖ received 46.6%. In 2005, it received 5.2% more votes and ended up with an absolute majority of 51.8%. After losing it in 2010, the SPÖ was able to regain it in the latest election in January 2020. From 2015 to 2020, the SPÖ in Burgenland was in an unusual coalition with the FPÖ. The Governor (Landeshauptmann) of the Burgenland isHans Peter Doskozil.
The SPÖ used to be strong inCarinthia as it regularly won the most seats in state elections and the governors used to be Social Democrats until 1989. Since the rise ofJörg Haider and hisFPÖ, he successfully pushed the SPÖ out of their leading position. In state elections in 1999, the SPÖ received 32.9%. However, this went up to 38.4% in 2004. Until 2005, the SPÖ was in a coalition with the right-wing FPÖ in Carinthia, where Haider was Governor. This constellation is in question after the chairperson of the Carinthian SPÖ Gabi Schauning decided to resign from her post as Vice-Governor of Carinthia after a fall-out with Haider. Carinthia has a mandatory concentration government, where each party with a certain number of seats in the state parliament automatically participates in the state government. The termcoalition refers to the co-operation between parties and not to the participation in the state cabinet.
InLower Austria, the SPÖ received 29.2% in 1998. It increased its shares by 3.2% in 2003 and ended up with 32.4%. In the2008 Lower Austrian state election, the SPÖ received 25.5% of the vote.
In 2004, the SPÖ won a surprising victory inSalzburg. It was able to increase its share of votes from 32.2% (1999) to 45.3%. For the first time, the conservativeÖVP lost its traditional dominant position.Gabi Burgstaller became the first SPÖ governess (Landeshauptfrau) in the state's history. In March 2009, the party lost 2 seats (from 17 to 15) with a 39.5% of the popular votes, going to the FPÖ (from 3 to 5) with a 13% of the votes. The ÖVP had 14 seats with a 36.5% of the votes and theGrüne 2 seat with a 7.3% . TheBZÖ had no seat with a 3.7% of the votes, showing a growing of the right-wing parties. In the State elections 2013 the SPÖ lost its majority to the ÖVP. Since then, the ÖVP has providing the governor (Landeshauptmann) with Wilfried Haslauer jun. again.
Styria was traditionally ruled by the ÖVP. In 2000, the Styrian SPÖ ended up with 32.3%. In 2005, the voters shifted towards the left, something that also benefited theKPÖ, the local communist party. The SPÖ won 9.4% more and ended up with 40.7%, defeating the ÖVP which got 38.7% of the votes. Styrian SPÖ ChairmanFranz Voves became the state Governor. After the State elections 2015 the SPÖ lost the governorship to the ÖVP. Since then, the ÖVP has providing the governor (Landeshauptmann) with Hermann Schützenhöfer again.
InTyrol, the SPÖ receive few votes since the state is a traditional conservative stronghold. In 2018, the Tyrolean SPÖ received 17.3% of all votes. The winner of the election was the ÖVP under long-term governor Günther Platter, which received 44,3% of the total vote.
In 2003, the SPÖ was able to raise its voters share inUpper Austria by 11.3% from 27% (1997) to 38.3%. It was in a grand coalition with the ÖVP in the state government as the junior partner, with four out of nine of the state government ministers coming from the SPÖ.
Vienna was always traditionally the stronghold of the SPÖ. The current Governor-Mayor of Vienna isMichael Ludwig. In the 2020 Viennese state election the SPÖ raised its vote-share to 41,6%. The party with the largest gains was the ÖVP which doubled its vote-share and won 20,4% of the votes.
Traditionally,Vorarlberg has been a stronghold of the ÖVP. In the most recent state election (2024 Vorarlberg state election), the SPÖ received 9.06 percent of the vote, losing one seat in the state assembly and holding three seats. This represents the party’s weakest result among all nine federal states of Austria.[26] Following the election, they are now in opposition to a coalition government by the ÖVP and FPÖ.[27]
Bold indicates best result to date. Present in legislature (in opposition) / Present in presidential first round Junior coalition partner / Present in presidential second round Senior coalition partner / Presidential winner
^Bale, Tim (2021).Riding the populist wave: Europe's mainstream right in crisis. Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. p. 35.ISBN978-1-009-00686-6.OCLC1256593260.
^"SPOE Partei Programm"(PDF) (in German). Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 14 November 2012. (458KiB) Party platform, see articles I.(1) and III.7.(1): "strive for a society that overcomes class antagonisms", "only the advancement of political to economic, and therefore social, democracy establishes the precondition for the realization of our basic principles".[dead link]
^Mutschlechner, Martin (21 June 2014)."Karl Renner".Der Erste Weltkrieg. Retrieved16 September 2025.
^Scharf, Michaela (21 June 2014)."The Social Democrats".Der Erste Weltkrieg. Retrieved16 September 2025.
^Hagen, Lara; Rachbauer, Stefanie (18 October 2023)."Sozialistische Jugend Vorarlberg sorgt mit Gaza-Posting für Kritik".derStandart.at (in German). Retrieved18 August 2024.Er werde einen Landesparteivorstand einberufen und alle weiteren Schritte von Einstellung der Förderungen für die Sozialistische Jugend bis hin zu Parteiausschlüssen diskutieren. [He would convene a state party executive committee to discuss all further steps, including the suspension of funding for the Socialist Youth and possible party expulsions.]
^Al Kafur, Miriam (14 November 2023)."Sozialistische Jugend Alsergrund aufgelöst" [The Socialist Youth Alsergrund has been dissolved].Meinbezirk.at (in German). Retrieved18 August 2024.
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