The ÖVP's Ethics Council is recommending that the responsible party bodies take all appropriate measures, up to and including the expulsion of Vienna Wirtschaftsbund chief Walter Ruck. In the Vienna ÖVP, this is leading to an open power struggle over the future direction of the state party.
Vienna, 26 July 2026
The ÖVP's Ethics Council has recommended to the responsible party bodies that all appropriate measures, up to and including expulsion, be taken against Vienna Wirtschaftsbund chairman Walter Ruck, whereupon an open conflict over how to deal with the Chamber of Commerce chief has escalated within the Vienna state party.
The Vienna ÖVP is heading toward an unprecedented internal party crisis. The trigger is a recommendation from the ÖVP Ethics Council issued Friday afternoon, which advised the responsible party bodies to take "die ihnen geeignet erscheinenden Maßnahmen und Sanktionen bis hin zum Ausschluss zu ergreifen" in order to limit the damage Walter Ruck has "in der Öffentlichkeit angerichteten Schaden zu begrenzen". The People's Party itself spoke of an advisory body that can act either on behalf of the party leader or "von Amts wegen".
The background to the escalation is allegations against Ruck in connection with audio recordings whose content he does not confirm. In a letter to members of the ÖVP federal party executive on Friday, Ruck pointed out that he had "seit deren Beginn darauf hingewiesen" that "die veröffentlichten Aussagen von mir nicht bestätigt werden können". At the same time, he spoke of a "Medienkampagne" against self-administration and his person.
Vienna ÖVP chief Markus Figl made clear on Saturday on the Ö1-Morgenjournal that, for him, any further invitation of Ruck to the party bodies was no longer an option. The idea was "absurd", Figl said – a formulation he repeated later as well, according to KURIER. It would be a "denklogischer Widerspruch", Figl continued, to want to exclude Ruck from the bodies on the one hand while continuing to invite him on the other.
Support for the Vienna party leadership came promptly from the federal state of Salzburg. State Governor Karoline Edtstadler said in a statement: "So ein Verhalten hat im 21. Jahrhundert in der Politik in Österreich nichts verloren – weder in der Partei, noch im Wirtschaftsbund oder der Wirtschaftskammer". Lower Austrian State Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner also welcomed the approach: ÖVP chairman Christian Stocker had thereby "ein wichtiges und richtiges Signal gesetzt".
The mood is different within the Vienna Wirtschaftsbund itself, which, according to a STANDARD statement, is currently very deliberately conveying an impression of unity. The imagery of the "Wirtschaftsbund-Familie" (with "Papa" Ruck), cultivated in internal communications, also holds outwardly – that is the official reading. That the entire Wirtschaftsbund stands behind Ruck is, however, not true "so pauschal", according to the party. In addition, official statements rely on a reference to "eindrucksvolle" 121 of 122 votes in an election.
At the center of the allegations is the 2025 Chamber of Commerce election. At the time, Ruck is said to have exploited a loophole in the Chamber of Commerce law in order to secure the ÖVP Wirtschaftsbund a majority in the Economic Parliament. In a delegates' election, Walter Ruck was already listed on the ballots as the new old chairman – specifically "als einziger Name auf dem Wahlzettel", as STANDARD reported. "Sprich: Um Ruck zu wählen, konnte man sich den 'Umweg' in die Kabine sparen und den vorgefertigten Stimmzettel einfach einwerfen", the paper wrote.
A Vienna ÖVP functionary told KURIER that he and colleagues had been irritated: "Ob das noch den Anforderungen einer geheimen Wahl genügt, das kann jeder selbst entscheiden". Another was even more blunt: during the election, "Zustände wie in Russland" had prevailed. An anonymous Facebook post summed up the outrage in a nutshell: "Wie kommt es zu diesem Schwachsinn?!?!".
One person who publicly highlighted the irregularities early on is Figl himself, thereby putting the party leadership under pressure. Functionary Evelyn Neumann was, as STANDARD reported, one of the first to publicly oppose Ruck by name: she accused Ruck of having removed her from her Chamber function with a pre-written resignation letter, which she signed "gezwungenermaßen".
A prominent advocate for Ruck within the party is former ÖVP chairwoman Elisabeth Klasnic, who – as was stated in a statement on Friday – has a different perception of the events. After Ruck could not find a date for a "zeitnahes persönliches Gespräch", Klasnic asked him to "die Frage nach der Authentizität der kolportierten und ihm zugeschriebenen Aussagen" in writing. Since Ruck "keine eindeutig klarstellende Feststellung traf" and did not take up the offer of a phone call, the Ethics Council must assume that these statements were reproduced correctly.
Vienna's Mayor Michael Ludwig also became caught up in the debate. He could have "die Reißleine ziehen" and end this "seltsame Männerfreundschaft", political scientist Peter Filzmaier told STANDARD. Ludwig himself pointed out in a statement that he had "mit Präsident Walter Ruck immer ein ausgesprochen gutes Einvernehmen" gehabt. Ruck's behavior contradicts the principles of the "schwarzen Verhaltenskodex" and requires "im Sinne einer verantwortungsvollen politischen Kultur den Rücktritt von den politischen Funktionen", according to those close to the Ethics Council session.
In the background, a power struggle is underway over the future direction of the Vienna ÖVP. State secretary Lorenz Mayer sent an internal message to functionaries on Sunday, in which he announced that they would "aktiv gegen ihn und sein Politikverständnis vorgehen" and position themselves against the "System Ludwig-Ruck". Wirtschaftsbund functionaries struck back: functionary Martin Heimhilcher wrote, for example, in an internal rebuttal, when he was rumored as a possible Ruck successor: "Wann hört endlich der Versuch auf, die WB-Familie auseinanderbringen zu wollen".
It remains open whether Ruck himself will fight the possible party expulsion – he would have 14 days to do so. If there is no change in leadership, Ruck would remain chairman until 2031, and thus beyond the next Chamber of Commerce election. The case thus touches on a central question in Viennese politics: how will the state party deal with "ihrem" Wirtschaftsbund in the future – as a partner, as part of the party, or as an opponent?
Political scientist Peter Filzmaier also sees a contradiction in the case: "Warum wird in dem Punkt der Fall Wöginger so anders bewertet als im Fall Ruck?", he asked with reference to internal appointments. Ruck himself rejected all allegations: "Es gibt keinen einzigen, rechtlich relevanten Vorwurf. Was es gibt: Aufregung über mir in den Mund gelegte, flapsige, private Aussagen, die allesamt von mir nicht bestätigt wurden". How the conflict will end is currently as open as the question of whether the 2025 Chamber of Commerce election will be legally revisited.
While the Vienna ÖVP is trying to appear united, other state associations are signaling support for the Vienna line. This puts the party leadership before a directional decision: will it opt for confrontation with the Wirtschaftsbund – or for some form of reconciliation? The coming days are considered decisive in Viennese party circles.
