Austria: manager Gerhard Zeiler challenges social democratic leader Andreas Babler

Top media manager Gerhard Zeiler, 71, has thrown down the challenge to Austrian Social Democrat leader and vice chancellor Andreas Babler.

The current president of Warner Bros. Discovery International, and executive of RTL, publicly announced his candidacy and called for a change of direction of the party, focusing in particular on economic growth, investments and a renegotiation of the government program, reopening an internal confrontation that could have repercussions on the balance of the majority. Born in Vienna and for years at the top of large international media groups, Zeiler defined himself as a "classical social democrat", excluding being a Marxist. Among his priorities he indicated the relaunch of the economy, necessary, in his opinion, to increase the resources to be allocated to redistribution. The manager presented himself as a possible "transition candidate" and proposed a renegotiation of the government program. At the moment, however, there are no Social Democratic parliamentarians who have publicly expressed support for his candidacy.

The move comes as Babler grapples with internal tensions within the party. The current leader had won the leadership of the Social Democrats after a confrontation involving the members, overtaking the then favorite Hans Peter Doskozil at the extraordinary congress. The Social Democrats participate in the government coalition with the People's Party (ÖVP) and the Neos liberals. An alliance which, according to analyzes by the Austrian media, limits the vice-chancellor's margins in the implementation of the party program. Among the issues at the center of the discussion are the proposal for an inheritance tax and the reform of media financing. The latter fueled tensions between Babler and some important Austrian publishing groups. A possible change in the leadership of the Social Democrats could have consequences for the entire majority. A government crisis could pave the way for early elections, in a scenario marked by the advantage of Herbert Kickl's Freedom Party (FPÖ), clearly leading in the polls cited by the Austrian media.