Editing Politics of Austria (section)

===Social Democratic Party of Austria===
{{Main|Social Democratic Party of Austria}}
The Social Democratic Party ({{lang|de|Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs}}, or SPÖ) is a [[Social democracy|social democratic]]/[[Centre-left politics|centre-left]] political party that was founded in 1888 as the Social Democratic Worker's Party ({{lang|de|Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei}}, or SDAP), when [[Victor Adler]] managed to unite the various opposing factions.<ref>[http://www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.s/s673001.htm Encyclopedia of Austria - SPÖ]. Retrieved 21 May 2010.</ref> The party was reconstituted as the Socialist Party of Austria in 1945 (renamed to the Social Democratic Party of Austria in 1991) after being outlawed in 1934. Between 1970 and 1999, it governed the country either alone or with a junior partner, and all but three of the [[List of Federal Presidents of Austria|Presidents of Austria]] since 1945 have either been members of the SPÖ or nominated by it. Originally having a high following among blue-collar workers, it sought to expand its focus on middle class and white-collar workers in the late 1950s. In the 1990s, it started viewing privatisation of nationalised industries more openly, after large losses of state owned enterprises came to light.<ref>[http://countrystudies.us/austria/118.htm countrystudies.us - Social Democratic Party of Austria]. Retrieved 21 May 2010.</ref> Following the 2008 financial crisis, the party started advocating a global [[Financial transaction tax|transaction tax]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3165.htm|title=Austria|website=U.S. Department of State|access-date=21 May 2010}}</ref> It finished first in the National Council election of 2008 with 29.3% of the vote. The party is a member of the [[Socialist International]] and the [[Party of European Socialists]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.socialistinternational.org/about-us/members/|title=Members|website=Socialist International|language=en|access-date=2020-01-02}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pes.eu/en/members/index.html|title=Members|website=PES|language=en|access-date=2020-01-02|archive-date=1 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501061053/https://www.pes.eu/en/members/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Unlike the ÖVP, the SPÖ has been less successful in reinventing itself and adopting to a new political landscape. It suffered heavy losses in the 2019 National Council elections, ending up with a dozen seats fewer than in the previous legislative session. The party intended to rebuild and serve as opposition to the ÖVP-led coalition government under Kurz.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/01/resurgent-austrian-greens-in-coalition-deal-with-centre-right-party|title=Resurgent Austrian Greens in coalition deal with centre-right party|date=2020-01-01|work=The Guardian|access-date=2020-01-01|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

In January 2020 the SPÖ received almost 50% of the votes in regional elections in the State of [[Burgenland]] under the leadership of [[Hans Peter Doskozil]], which gave him an absolute majority of seats in the Landtag, and allows him to govern without the support of a junior coalition partner.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://kurier.at/politik/inland/wahlen-im-burgenland-doskozil-raeumt-ab-enttaeuschung-fuer-tuerkis-gruen/400737324|title=Doskozil räumt ab, Enttäuschung für Türkis-Grün|last=daniela.kittner|website=kurier.at|date=26 January 2020 |language=de|access-date=2020-01-31}}</ref> This surprising success raises the possibility that the SPÖ could reverse recent setbacks at the national level likewise.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://kurier.at/meinung/sieg-im-burgenland-damit-wird-doskozil-die-themen-in-der-spoe-vorgeben/400737297|title=Damit wird Doskozil die Themen in der Bundespartei vorgeben|last=martin.gebhart|website=kurier.at|date=26 January 2020 |language=de|access-date=2020-01-31}}</ref>