More than half of all SPÖ deputies were absent from Volodymyr Zelenskyj’s speech today. The reason is an issue that divides the party like inflation, immigration, the weather or anything else: the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. In order to end internal disagreements, party leader Pamela Rendi-Wagner is now calling for a member survey.
VIENNA – “When a fascist regime attacks its neighboring country with genocidal intentions and commits countless war crimes, there can only be one answer for an upstanding Social Democrat like me: Yes,” affirms Rendi-Wagner and shrugs his shoulders with a smile.
The member survey should now fill in the internal rifts and bring the party into line. The party leader and foreign policy spokeswoman apologized this morning, as did 20 other SPÖ MPs.
“Of course: war crimes are to be condemned, without ifs and buts… but: NATO, natural gas, neutrality. Butscha appears in a different light again,” explains Josef Muchitsch, who unfortunately didn’t make it today.
Gabriele Heinisch-Hosek nods and adds: “When are we finally going to talk about the crimes of NATO, when about those of the USA, when about those of the EU? I only hear Russia, Russia, Russia – what has Russia done in the last year? Let me add one more thing: USA, NATO, Israel!”
Of conviction
But not all MPs can be said to have weaknesses in decision-making. “I didn’t come out of complete conviction,” says a Red member of parliament. “Mr. Selenskyj has already had a gun in his hand, my pacifist worldview doesn’t do it, and now excuse me, I have to do my part-time job at OMV, we have a new borehole in Novosibirsk to dig.”
Ex-President Heinz Fischer could not be reached for comment. Like every Thursday, he massages Vladimir Putin’s back in a massage parlor in the first district.
neutrality
“Hope for the next generation” (quote: Julia Herr) Julia Herr is waiting for a taxi in front of Parliament. She watches a truck hit a cyclist from behind, who remains injured. “Others would now administer first aid… but I prefer to be neutral and not interfere in the bloodshed. The cyclist could have given up part of his cycle path, then none of this would have happened. Friendship!”
Rendi-Wagner takes the wind out of the sails of critics with foresight: “I sympathize with the civilian population. Not being able to even get out the door without being ambushed by an authoritarian lunatic from the East with a thirst for power – believe me, I know how that feels.”
surprise candidate
In the member survey on party leadership, there is a new, surprising intermediate result: Hans Peter Doskozil, Andreas Babler and Pamela Rendi-Wagner have been overtaken – Vladimir Putin is currently in the lead. “He was the only one who managed to get about half of the party to agree with him,” explains an SPÖ member of parliament who is waiting outside in the aisle with Kickl and Hafenecker for the end of the speech.
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