They received 168 of 201 valid votes cast. They started as a team. There were no opposing candidates.
After Birgit Hebein resigned, the Greens had to decide on a new party leadership. She had only taken over from Maria Vassilakou in 2019 as City Councilor for Transport and Vice Mayor, and a little later she was also named the first party chairwoman of the Vienna Green Party.
When the Viennese SPÖ decided in favor of a coalition with the NEOS and against the Greens after the 2020 election, Hebein was not given a position in the club. Annoyed, she resigned from her mandate and party chairmanship. The prerequisites for a team consisting of two people to be at the top in the future were created a few weeks ago by means of an amendment to the statutes. State party secretary Peter Kristöfel is currently party leader on an interim basis. He did not apply to take over the office permanently.
“Striving for reliability and stability”
Federal spokesman and vice chancellor Werner Kogler previously reported on the federal political events of the past few days and, as expected, was full of praise for his party. The Greens would exercise “state political responsibility”, he asserted. In his speech, he was initially pleased that the state assembly will again be held as a face-to-face event – after the Viennese party had recently relied on online events. In the next few months, the federal party and government members will meet informally with the state party more often, he announced.
Everyone would be surprised “if I didn’t go into what has happened in the last few weeks and days,” said the federal spokesman. Efforts have been made to ensure reliability and stability. “They are the Greens and that makes me proud.” Kogler spoke of a practical test for everyone. He expressed special thanks to Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen. He wanted to bow to this because he played a major role.
Practical test for parliament
“Parliament has also put a test to the test,” said Kogler. This worked well across all party lines. Here he wanted to be the first to address the club boss of the Greens, Sigi Maurer, he emphasized – who acted as a member of the presidium at the state assembly. The “vast majority” of the media reported independently. “A lot of critical facts were put on the table.”
“We had several variants during the crisis,” he reported. Constant internal coordination was very important here. He particularly emphasized the ongoing contact with the state parties of the Greens – including those in Vienna.
What shines out from the chats was completely clear, Kogler noted. In view of the allegations set out in the order for the house searches (at the ÖVP, note), it was decided to demand consequences. “Not for tactical reasons.” The Greens were not the ones who stirred up the “whole Quargel”. You take the state political responsibility and try to give you orientation again immediately.
“Independent justice is an essential pillar”
“The independent judiciary is a very important pillar”, Kogler was also convinced, and he expressly welcomed the attending Justice Minister Alma Zadić – which was acknowledged with strong applause. You have to let the judiciary work. And it was necessary to state that attacks on them were not permitted.
If a house search is not considered justified, legal remedies can be lodged against the use of the collected data, for example. “Anyone who feels they have been treated unfairly should turn to the rule of law, but not attack the rule of law,” emphasized Kogler.
SPÖ in Vienna “on the wrong side”
The Vice Chancellor also emphasized the green commitment to tax reform. The fact that the CO2 price is “far too low” can be discussed. But it is the beginning of a new way of thinking. He praised the “redistribution” via the climate bonus as a “social balance”. “Nobody needs to worry that we are not thinking about the future.” In Vienna, however, the SPÖ is reliably on the wrong side, he also refers to the dispute over the Lobau motorway.
