ÖVP Federal Executive Approves Expulsion of Chamber of Commerce President Walter Ruck

The expulsion followed a recommendation by the ÖVP Ethics Council on Friday afternoon. The body spoke out in favor of sanctions "up to and including expulsion from the party." In its reasoning, it stated that, due to the lack of an "unequivocally clarifying statement" from Ruck, the Ethics Council had to assume that his statements circulated in the media had been accurately reproduced. Ruck had damaged the ÖVP's public reputation and, despite Party Chief Stocker's request, had shown no willingness to cooperate in "working through or clarifying the allegations."

What Ruck Is Accused Of

The affair was triggered by transcripts published about a week ago by the news magazine "profil" and the "Krone." According to these, Ruck had said in a small circle about Vienna's Finance City Councillor Barbara Novak (SPÖ), among other things: "Heast, ich will nicht mit einer Frau." He was also reported to have spoken of "degenerierten Oberösterreichern" and to have described Economics Minister Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer as a "Typ Sachbearbeiter." He is also said to have spread claims in the conversation about alleged influence over ÖVP list nominations.

Ruck rejected the accusations in a letter to the party and spoke of a "Kampagne" against himself and against self-governance. "Mit großem Interesse habe ich Medienberichten entnommen, dass der heutige Bundesparteivorstand plant, mich aus der ÖVP auszuschließen," reads the letter, available to the APA. Ruck had "den Kampagnenmachern bisher nicht den Gefallen getan, ihre durchschaubaren Manöver durch Äußerungen meinerseits aufzuwerten."

Ruck's Defense

At the same time, Ruck criticized the circumstances of the publication. It concerned "Zitate aus einer potenziell illegalen Tonaufnahme," whose authenticity he could "nicht überprüfen." There was "keinen einzigen, rechtlich relevanten Vorwurf." Instead, there was an uproar over "in den Mund gelegte, flapsige, private Aussagen, die allesamt von mir nicht bestätigt wurden" attributed to him. The public had found this "verwundert," he said, because a conversation with former State Governor Waltraud Klasnic had previously been arranged but was canceled "sollte er bis heute 12.00 Uhr eine Erklärung vorlegen."

Klasnic, who was supposed to speak with Ruck on behalf of the Ethics Council, partly confirmed the account. Ruck had not been available for an "ihm angebotenes zeitnahes persönliches Gespräch," nor even by telephone. The former minister responsible for the Ethics Council also argued: "Das ist trotz Aufforderung nicht erfolgt." The Ethics Council simultaneously noted that its position held "unabhängig von der rechtlichen Fragwürdigkeit eines nicht vorher avisierten Mitschnitts eines Gesprächs und davon, dass die einzelnen Zitate möglicherweise aus dem Zusammenhang gerissen sind."

Reactions from the States and the Women's Organization

In recent days, numerous high-ranking ÖVP politicians had demanded Ruck's expulsion. The federal ÖVP stated in the evening that the statements circulated in the transcripts were "in keinster Weise mit den Werten und der Weltanschauung der Volkspartei vereinbar." Women's policy-makers from the party also spoke out sharply. Federal ÖVP Women's Leader Juliane Bogner-Strauß said the expulsion was "die einzig richtige Konsequenz."

Several ÖVP state organizations also welcomed the decision. Lower Austrian State Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner spoke of a "wichtigen und richtigen Signal." Salzburg State Governor Karoline Edtstadler said "so ein Verhalten hat im 21. Jahrhundert in der Politik in Österreich nichts verloren." Upper Austrian state chairman Thomas Stelzer declared that "eine solche Wortwahl klar abzulehnen" sei. Europe Minister Claudia Bauer saw in the matter primarily a problem of the SPÖ and Vienna's Mayor Michael Ludwig.

Criticism also came from the Vienna ÖVP. Long-standing ÖVP Vienna institution Ingrid Korosec had been the first to demand Ruck's expulsion. Farmers' League President Georg Strasser and the Burgenland state party chairman Christoph Zarits also backed the party's decision. Zarits spoke of a signal that "dass Anstand, Respekt und Verantwortung keine leeren Worte sind."

Wirtschaftsbund and Chamber of Commerce

Ruck announced that he did not intend to withdraw from the Chamber of Commerce. Through a spokesperson, he had it conveyed that, even in the event of expulsion from the party, he would remain chairman of the Vienna Wirtschaftsbund "und damit – als Obmann einer Teilorganisation – im Landesparteipräsidium und Landesparteivorstand der Wiener Volkspartei." In a later letter, the chamber chief stated: "Unabhängig davon werde ich als Obmann des Wiener Wirtschaftsbundes und Präsident der Wiener Wirtschaftskammer wie bisher mit vollem Herzblut für den Wiener Wirtschaftsstandort arbeiten."

A spokesperson for the Vienna ÖVP, Bernadette Figl, commented on this on Ö1's "Morgenjournal": "Jemand, der nicht Mitglied ist, ist auch nicht Teil irgendwelcher Gremien der Wiener Volkspartei." The background is the ÖVP's organizational structure by leagues. The People's Party's statutes state: "Funktionäre sind Parteimitglieder, die eine Funktion in der ÖVP nach den Bestattungen dieses Statutes ehrenamtlich ausüben." For Ruck, according to Figl, the following applies: Ruck is "nicht Teil irgendwelcher Gremien" of the Vienna People's Party.

Critical voices also came from within the Chamber of Commerce itself. A high-ranking Wirtschaftsbund mandate holder in the Vienna Economic Parliament told the "OÖN": "Ich bin überzeugt, Walter Ruck wird in einem Jahr nicht mehr Kammerpräsident sein." The delegates had neither been informed nor asked in recent days whether they still supported Ruck. At the Chamber of Commerce elections in spring 2025, Ruck is also reported by "profil" and "Presse" to have exploited a loophole in the Chamber of Commerce Act to give the ÖVP Wirtschaftsbund a majority in the Economic Parliament.

From the Vienna SPÖ, Ruck has so far received support. Mayor Michael Ludwig stated this week that he knew "die andere Seite" of Ruck. In city hall circles, there is even occasional talk of a "Bromance." For his part, Ruck had refused co-financing from the Vienna Chamber when the federal Chamber of Commerce (WKO) ran a campaign to introduce the 12-hour day. Regarding the coalition between the ÖVP and SPÖ in Vienna, former ÖVP Vienna chief Bernhard Görg assesses it as a "Zweckbündnis in beiderlei Interesse."

Reactions from NEOS, FPÖ and the Greens

Political competitor NEOS meanwhile also demanded Ruck's resignation as Chamber of Commerce President. NEOS Secretary General Douglas Hoyos said the expulsion from the party was "ein unmissverständliches Signal." The party decision had been correct, but Ruck must "auch den sofortigen Rücktritt als Präsident der Wirtschaftskammer Wien" antreten. Anyone who called Austrian entrepreneurs "degeneriert" "und ein so jenseitiges Machtverständnis und Frauenbild hat wie Ruck, hat in der Politik nichts zu suchen," Hoyos continued.

The FPÖ saw the expulsion as an "Offenbarungseid einer in Auflösungserscheinungen begriffenen Regierung." FPÖ Secretary General Christian Hafenecker spoke of a "verzweifelten Manöver einer Partei, die im eigenen Sumpf aus Machtmissbrauch und Intrigen zu versinken" drohe. Vienna FPÖ chief Dominik Nepp had called the matter the previous Sunday the "Spitze des schwarz-roten Selbstbedienungssystems" in the interest groups. The Greens also welcomed the decision; women's spokesperson Meri Disoski said: "Die ÖVP hat klare Konsequenzen gezogen."

The background to the conflict is also Ruck's strained relationship with his own party. Former Vienna ÖVP chief Karl Mahrer had once ranted about the Brunnenmarkt and foreign entrepreneurs, whereupon Ruck publicly said he knew him "als Humanisten." Ruck had also, as the STANDARD reported, taken a stand in the Wien Energie affair against ÖVP members who came from "his" Wirtschaftsbund, by forbidding them to follow the party line and vote against Ludwig. At the state level, elections are due next year in Upper Austria