Actually, after the party congress a week ago, peace should finally have returned to Austria's Social Democrats. With the election of a new leader, after months of fighting for the SPÖ leadership. For the delegates of the SPÖ, two men were on the ballot, who could not be more opposite: the popular governor of Burgenland, Hans-Peter Doskozil, who had long vied for the party chairmanship. And the left-wing underdog and mayor of a small town, Andreas Babler.
The result, which was announced at the end of the party congress last Saturday, probably surprised very few observers. Around 53 percent of the votes went to Doskozil, who was thus crowned the winner. For now. Just one day later, a piece of news made the rounds that some initially thought was a joke: the candidates' results had been swapped. Due to an error during the transfer to an Excel list. The real winner is Andreas Babler. The underdog. And while half the nation laughs at the mix-up, chaos breaks out in the SPÖ. Again.
In this episode of »Inside Austria« we deal with the election glitch of Austria's Social Democrats. We ask how such a mistake could happen and what consequences the breakdown has for the party. We are also targeting Andreas Babler. Who is the new man at the head of the SPÖ? Will it bring the left-wing revolution to Austria?
In the weekly podcast »Inside Austria«, SPIEGEL and STANDARD take a joint look at the big and small scandals in Austria. Together with journalists from both editorial offices, we reconstruct cases and events that move the country. We look into political abysses, follow the investigations surrounding the Sebastian Kurz and his ÖVP case and inform you about an important Austrian topic of the week.