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Andreas Babler

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Andreas Babler
Babler in 2026
Vice-Chancellor of Austria
Incumbent
Assumed office
3 March 2025
ChancellorChristian Stocker
Preceded byWerner Kogler
Minister for Housing, Arts, Culture, Media and Sport
Incumbent
Assumed office
3 March 2025
ChancellorChristian Stocker
Preceded byWerner Kogler
Chair of the Social Democratic Party
Incumbent
Assumed office
6 June 2023
Preceded byPamela Rendi-Wagner
Member of the National Council
In office
24 October 2024 – 6 March 2025
AffiliationSocial Democratic Party
Member of the Federal Council
In office
23 March 2023 – 23 October 2024
AffiliationSocial Democratic Party
Mayor of Traiskirchen
In office
29 April 2014 – 24 October 2024
Preceded byFriedrich Knotzer
Succeeded bySabrina Divoky
Personal details
BornAndreas Babler
(1973-02-25) 25 February 1973 (age 53)
Mödling, Austria
PartySocial Democratic Party
SpouseKarin Blum
Children1
EducationUniversity for Continuing Education Krems (MSc)
WebsiteOfficial website

Andreas "Andi" Babler (born 25 February 1973) is an Austrian politician who has been the leader of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) since June 2023. Since March 2025, he has served as Vice-Chancellor of Austria and Minister for Housing, Arts, Culture, Media, and Sport in the Stocker government.

From 2024 to 2025, he was a member of the National Council, where he served as chairman of the SPÖ parliamentary group. From 2014 to 2024, he was mayor of Traiskirchen, and from 2023 to 2024, he was a member of the Federal Council.

Babler has described himself as Marxist,[1] and has been described as a left-wing populist.[2][3]

Early life

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Babler grew up in a Semperit family in Möllersdorf, part of the municipality of Traiskirchen. His father, Werner Babler (born 1947), was a firefighter.

Babler attended higher technical college in Mödling (without graduating with a Matura),[4] and subsequently worked in machine construction and as a warehouse worker.[5] After military service and one year as a professional soldier (1993–1994), he worked as a shift worker and shift supervisor in mineral water production.[6]

After starting his career in politics, he studied political communication at the University for Continuing Education Krems, earning a Master of Science in 2009.[7]

Political career

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In 1989, Babler joined the Socialist Youth Austria (SJÖ), where he rose to become state secretary for SJ Lower Austria, federal secretary of the SJÖ in 1996, and later vice president of the International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY). He was considered part of the Marxist–Leninist "Stamokap” wing of the Socialist Youth and strongly supported socialist Yugoslavia during the 1990s. In 1999, Babler organised a “Vienna Tribunal” opposing the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and criticised the Rambouillet Agreement.[8]

In 1995, he became a member of the town council of Traiskirchen. In 1996, he drew criticism for an article attacking the Catholic Church and calling for the removal of crucifixes from classrooms, remarks he later described as satire.[9] He became mayor of Traiskirchen in 2014. In his first election he received the best election result for the SPÖ in Traiskirchen since 1945.[10]

Babler gained nationwide attention because of the Traiskirchen refugee camp, the largest refugee camp in Austria and one of the largest in Europe.[11] During the European refugee crisis of 2015, he sharply criticised the asylum policies of Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner and organised protests calling for more humane refugee accommodation.[12]

Following strong results in the 2023 Lower Austrian state election, Babler entered the Federal Council in April 2023.[13] He announced his candidacy in the 2023 SPÖ leadership election on 23 March 2023.[14][15] Although initially declared defeated by Hans Peter Doskozil at the extraordinary party congress on 3 June 2023,[16] a recount revealed that the results had been reversed due to an Excel error, and Babler officially became SPÖ leader on 6 June 2023. He was reelected party chairman in March 2026 with 81.51% of delegate votes.[17][18]

In October 2024, Babler became chairman of the SPÖ parliamentary group in the National Council and resigned as mayor of Traiskirchen. After the 2024 legislative election, the SPÖ entered a coalition government with the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) and NEOS, and Babler became Vice-Chancellor and Minister for Housing, Arts, Culture, Media, and Sport.[19][20]

Political positions

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Babler has described himself as a Marxist,[1][21][22] but has said that he did not stand for concepts such as expropriations and a dictatorship of the proletariat.[22] He has been described as a left-wing populist.[23][24] He had previously ruled out a coalition government with ÖVP,[25] but backtracked in 2024.[26] He is a former member of the SPÖ's Marxist–Leninist "Stamokap" wing, and was criticised in the run-up to the 2023 SPÖ congress for a video in which he had described the European Union (EU) as "the most aggressive foreign policy alliance that ever existed" and "worse than NATO", adding the EU was as an "imperialist" project with a few social standards".[27][28] Babler said he did not advocate an Austrian exit from the EU but was in favour of a socially minded reform of the European treaties.[29]

As SPÖ leader, Babler has advocated a 32-hour workweek with full wage compensation,[30] inheritance and wealth taxes,[31][32] cannabis legalisation, free public transport for low-income people, free lunches in schools and kindergartens, energy price caps, and stronger grassroots democracy within the SPÖ.[33] He has also supported lower barriers to Austrian citizenship and expanded voting rights for foreigners.[34] On defence policy, Babler opposes NATO membership for Austria and criticised Austrian cooperation with NATO initiatives.[35] Although he previously advocated abolishing compulsory military service,[36] by 2023 he stated that he supported conscription.[37]

Early in his tenure as leader in June 2023, Babler welcomed further arms deliveries from the European Union to Ukraine.[38] Media noted his moderation in governing compared to his leadership campaign.[26]

Personal life

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In 1997, Babler met his future wife Karin Blum, a native of Vorarlberg who became the first Socialist chairperson in the history of the Austrian Students' Association (ÖH) in Innsbruck in 2005.[39] She later became chairwoman of the SPÖ Traiskirchen city party and a municipal councillor there. They married in 2009 and have one daughter.[40]

References

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  1. 1 2 philipp.wilhelmer (24 May 2023). "SPÖ-Kandidat Andreas Babler: "Ich bin Marxist"". kurier.at (in German). Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  2. ↑ Wien, Meret Baumann (27 February 2025). "Österreichs neue Regierung: Der zufällige Kanzler und sein ungeliebter Partner". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  3. ↑ martina.salomon (5 June 2023). "Nachrichten aus der Bananenrepublik". kurier.at (in German). Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  4. ↑ "Babler Andreas, MSc | Parlament Österreich". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  5. ↑ Andreas Babler, MSc Archived 31 May 2023 at the Wayback Machine, curriculum vitae, Social Democratic Party of Austria (in German).
  6. ↑ Andi Babler Archived 30 May 2023 at the Wayback Machine, Verein Machen wir was – Verein zur Förderung politischer Beteiligung, Vienna (in German).
  7. ↑ "Medien, Strategien und Kommunikation in Arbeitskämpfen am Beispiel der Semperit Traiskirchen (Master Thesis)" (in German). 2009. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  8. ↑ gernot.bauer (14 April 2023). "Streit um SPÖ-Vorsitz: Andis sozialistische Welt". www.profil.at (in German). Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  9. ↑ Budin, Christoph (13 June 2023). "Als Babler noch Schulkreuze anzünden wollte". Kronen Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  10. ↑ "Traiskirchen hat gewählt" (in German). 25 January 2015. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  11. ↑ "Wie zornig sind Sie schon, Herr Bürgermeister?". Kronen Zeitung (in German). 15 November 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  12. ↑ "Asyl: Traiskirchner Demo vor Innenministerium". news.ORF.at (in German). 9 June 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  13. ↑ "Babler Andreas, MSc - Parlament Österreich" (in German). 23 March 2023. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  14. ↑ "SPÖ-Mitgliederbefragung: Kein Duell, sondern mehrere Kandidaten" (in German). 22 March 2023. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  15. ↑ "Traiskirchens Bürgermeister Babler kandidiert für SPÖ-Vorsitz" (in German). 23 March 2023. Archived from the original on 23 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  16. ↑ "Hans Peter Doskozil gewinnt SPÖ-Mitgliederabstimmung". Die Presse (in German). 22 May 2023. Archived from the original on 22 May 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  17. ↑ "BUNDESPARTEIPRÄSIDIUM" (PDF). www.spoe.at. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  18. ↑ "Parteitag: Babler erhielt 81,5 Prozent". news.ORF.at (in German). 7 March 2026. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
  19. ↑ "Babler Andreas, MSc | Parlament Österreich". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  20. ↑ Ministers and State Secretaries, Federal Chancellery, Republic of Austria, Vienna.
  21. ↑ "An Open Marxist Just Became the Head of Austria's Social Democratic Party". jacobin.com. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  22. 1 2 Oltermann, Philip (5 June 2023). "Austrian Social Democrats announce wrong leader after 'technical error'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 April 2025. He told Austrian media in one interview: 'I am a Marxist', but said in a follow-up interview that he did not stand for concepts such as expropriations and a dictatorship of the proletariat.
  23. ↑ Löwenstein, Stephan; Wien (8 July 2023). "Andreas Babler: Links neben ihm soll niemand stehen". FAZ.NET (in German). ISSN 0174-4909. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  24. ↑ Imwinkelried, Daniel (12 June 2023). "Der neue SPÖ-Chef Andreas Babler stösst bereits auf Widerstand". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in Swiss High German). ISSN 0376-6829. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  25. ↑ Oltermann, Philip (5 June 2023). "Austrian Social Democrats announce wrong leader after 'technical error'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 April 2025. Unlike Doskozil, Babler has ruled out forming a "grand coalition" with Austria's conservatives.
  26. 1 2 "Andreas Babler Has Disappointed the Austrian Left". jacobin.com. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  27. ↑ Oltermann, Philip (5 June 2023). "Austrian Social Democrats announce wrong leader after 'technical error'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 April 2025. Babler, a former member of his party's Marxist-Leninist 'Stamokap' wing, drew fire in the run-up to the party congress for a two-year-old video in which he had described the EU as 'the most aggressive foreign policy alliance that ever existed' and 'worse than Nato'. He described the EU as an 'imperialist project with a few social standards'.
  28. ↑ "An Open Marxist Just Became the Head of Austria's Social Democratic Party". jacobin.com. Retrieved 16 April 2025. During the leadership election, comments he made in 2020 in which he referred to the EU as the 'most aggressive military alliance that has ever existed' and argued that its doctrine was 'worse than NATO' surfaced.
  29. ↑ Oltermann, Philip (5 June 2023). "Austrian Social Democrats announce wrong leader after 'technical error'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 April 2025. Babler said he did not advocate an Austrian exit from the bloc of nations but was in favour of a socially minded reform of the European treaties.
  30. ↑ "Bablers 32-Stunden-Woche: Radikale Forderung oder kein Grund zur..." Die Presse (in German). 17 October 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  31. ↑ "SPÖ kampagnisiert für Millionärssteuer". kurier.at (in German). 17 October 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  32. ↑ "Ja, reden wir über eine Erbschafts- und Vermögensteuer". Die Presse (in German). 6 September 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  33. ↑ "Was von Bablers Ideen blieb". Die Presse (in German). 10 November 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  34. ↑ bonavida.iris,eva.linsinger (1 April 2023). "Andreas Babler: „Links ist doch kein Schimpfwort!"". www.profil.at (in German). Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  35. ↑ "Österreich will sich der Nato annähern, SPÖ gegen "Beitritt über Hintertüre"". DER STANDARD (in Austrian German). Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  36. ↑ "Politische Randnotizen" (in German). 28 April 2014. Archived from the original on 26 November 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  37. ↑ "Babler: "Ich bin bereit für Neuwahlen"". DER STANDARD (in Austrian German). Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  38. ↑ vkaufmann (10 June 2023). "Babler hält EU-Militärhilfe für die Ukraine für richtig". VIENNA.AT (in German). Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  39. ↑ iPoint (29 May 2006). "Kopf der Woche: Karin Blum". Universität Innsbruck (in German). Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  40. ↑ "Andreas Babler: Vom einfachen Schichtarbeiter zum SPÖ-Spitzenkandidat". MeinBezirk.at (in German). 2 June 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
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