Leftist Babler Elected SPÖ Head After Technical Issue Gave Doskozil Win

In an unprecedented turn of events, leftist Mayor of Traiskirchen Andreas Babler has been elected as the new head of the main opposition Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) after the initial result published on 4 June was overturned. Initially, Burgenland Governor Hans Peter Dozkozil, hailing from the anti-immigration centre of the party, had been declared winner in the run-off with Babler. However, following investigations of the vote at the leadership convention it was determined that due to an error in Excel the vote totals had been switched between to two candidates. This means that Babler wins the election with the votes of 316 delegates to Dozkozil's 279, rather than the other way around.

• The embarrassing incident is not how the new SPÖ head would have wanted to start his tenure. Opinion polling shows both the SPÖ and the incumbent centre-right People's Party (ÖVP) trailing the far-right nationalist Freedom Party (FPÖ) ahead of the next elections due by autumn 2024.
• The election of Babler, a youthful progressive mayor, will put the SPÖ in stark contrast to the ÖVP, which has tacked to the right in recent years in an effort to counter the FPÖ.