Ruck Affair: Vienna Chamber of Commerce President Faces Growing Pressure Over Leaked Protocols

The Protocols and Their Publication

A spokesperson for Ruck said upon inquiry that they could not confirm the statements. 'Nein, diese Aussagen können wir nicht bestätigen', it was said from the Kammer chief's circle. The Vienna Chamber of Commerce also pointed out that the alleged quotes stemmed from a transcript of a non-verifiable and potentially illegally produced audio recording. They requested 'appropriate handling' and emphasized at the same time: 'Die Arbeit von BM Hattmannsdorfer schätzen wir im Übrigen sehr.'

Chancellor Christian Stocker, federal chairman of the ÖVP, reacted on Monday with an indirect call for resignation. The statements reported in the media were 'zutiefst irritierend' and contradicted the People's Party's image of women and understanding of politics. 'Alle Vorwürfe müssen aufgeklrt werden. Sollten die Vorwürfe der Wahrheit entsprechen, kann das nicht ohne Konsequenzen bleiben', Stocker said.

Stocker Demands Clarification and Consequences

WKO President Martha Schultz, who chairs the Federal Economic Chamber, also distanced herself clearly. She stated that the WKO is in the middle of a reform process in order to gradually regain the trust squandered in the past. 'Aus diesem Grund haben mich die Aussagen von Walter Ruck umso mehr getroffen.' The statements corresponded 'in keiner Weise unserem Weltbild noch unserer Kultur, wie Entscheidungen getroffen werden'. At the same time, Schultz effectively called on Ruck to resign: 'Ich bin überzeugt davon, dass sich Walter Ruck der Tragweite seiner Äußerungen bewusst geworden ist und weiteren Schaden von der Wirtschaftskammer abwenden will. Ich gehe davon aus, dass er die richtigen Schritte setzen wird.'

The Vienna ÖVP had already distanced itself from Ruck's statements on Friday, when initial reports about the protocols appeared. Vienna ÖVP chief Markus Figl, who was tasked by the federal party chairman with developing a 'Städtestrategie' to strengthen the ÖVP in urban areas, had it conveyed: 'Wir stehen ganz klar für ein völlig anderes Politikverständnis. Wir distanzieren uns von diesen Vorkommnissen und Aussagen.' Three of the six ÖVP sub-organizations – Seniors, JVP, and Women – publicly positioned themselves against the Vienna Wirtschaftsbund.

Vienna ÖVP's Distancing

Additional signals came from the Vienna ÖVP via social media. Vienna city councilor Sabine Keri, head of the 'Wienerinnen' (ÖVP Women's Association Vienna), posted a saluting smiley on Instagram with the text 'Kein Salut vor einem frauenfeindlichen System.' Likes came, among others, from Vienna ÖVP state managing director Lorenz Mayer, ÖVP communications chief Patrick Gasselich, as well as club chairman and JVP Vienna chief Harald Zierfuß.

Ingrid Korosec, head of the Seniorenbund, also spoke up. She said: 'In der Politik geht es um Anstand, Integrität und Respekt.' If the statements were true, 'offenbare sich ein Politikverständnis, das ich zutiefst ablehne'. Tyrolean ÖVP National Council member and cable car chief Franz Hörl, who holds positions in the Chamber of Commerce and Wirtschaftsbund, criticized the behavior as 'einfach ungustiös'.

The Statements Verbatim

In the protocols, Ruck is also quoted making statements about the ÖVP: 'Weil die ÖVP spielt eh keine Rolle. Wenn die ÖVP ein bisschen zu keck wird, dann kommt der Wirtschaftskammerpräsident, macht zweimal ‚Wumm', und es ist Ruhe.' Regarding Viennese ÖVP politician Margarete Kriz-Zwittkovits, his deputy in the Vienna Chamber, it is said that she received a 'Befehl bekommen', 'salutiert' and said: 'Okay, ich verzichte' – meaning she had renounced a Vienna election candidacy so that his son could run.

Kriz-Zwittkovits rejected this portrayal on Monday. There had never been a conversation with Ruck on the topic; it had been her free decision not to be available as a top candidate. She also told several media outlets: 'Wir stehen hinter Walter Ruck, weil wir ihn aus jahrzehntelanger Zusammenarbeit genau kennen.' The campaign against him is running 'ins Leere'.

Kriz-Zwittkovits Rejects Portrayal

Economics Minister Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer (ÖVP) was also the target of statements reported in the protocols. Ruck had described him as 'Typ Sachbearbeiter' and 'Vorstandsassistenten', 'der kommt zu dir rein mit 300 Seiten, die er auswendig gestrebert hat, und will dir in zwei Minuten alle 300 Seiten erzählen'. Hattmannsdorfer was briefly Secretary General of the Chamber of Commerce in 2025 before moving into the government. In the protocols, Ruck is also quoted making statements about industry representatives: 'Die sind dort gesessen und haben gescheit dahergeredet, vom Kaviar-Frühstück kommend, in den Sektbrunch irgendwie ein. Und dann haben sie so gesagt: ,Sie, Johann, machen Sie jetzt bitte den Weltfrieden dazu.' Solche Leute sind das auch.'

The reference is the debate about the Kammerumlage 2 (KU2). The KU2 is calculated on a company's wage sum, set by the regional chambers, and accounts for around 60 percent of chamber levy revenues. It is thus the politically controllable revenue lever of the chambers. KU1 is levied on the basis of wage tax. According to Ruck's protocols, the industry side had demanded a reduction of the KU2 of up to 30 percent – which, by Ruck's calculation, would have meant a minus of 11 million for the Lower Austrian Chamber of Commerce and a minus of 8 to 10 million for the Austrian Chamber of Commerce.

Background: Chamber Levy and Economic Situation

Siegfried Menz, federal division chairman of Industry in the WKO, who is referred to by name in the protocols as 'Sigi Menz', was tight-lipped with 'profil'. 'Die Causa Ruck dürfte bereits weitere Kreise ziehen. Die Vorstellungen der Industrie zur Kammerumlage sind bekannt.' Menz is also attributed with a stake in the Ottakringer brewery.

Sharp criticism came from the opposition. NEOS Secretary General Douglas Hoyos demanded consequences 'und zwar nicht nur für Ruck persönlich, sondern auch in der Wirtschaftskammer insgesamt'. A change at the top of the Vienna regional chamber is 'unausweichlich'. NEOS called on WKO President Schultz 'ihren Worten auch Taten folgen zu lassen, bezüglich Ruck selbst und in Bezug auf die Zukunft als Vertretung für die Unternehmerinnen und Unternehmer'. Reinhard Langthaler, Secretary General of the Freiheitliche Wirtschaft, stated that Ruck could no longer represent the interests of entrepreneurs.

Opposition and Wirtschaftsbund: Two Lines

Ruck received backing primarily from his own ranks. Florian Kollenz, director of the Vienna Wirtschaftsbund, attempted in an internal memo addressed to officials and media to close ranks. 'Keine Sorge, Walter wird nicht zurücktreten', he wrote. 'Wir lassen uns wegen unbestätigter Aussagen aus einer potenziell illegal angefertigten Tonaufnahme unseren Präsidenten von niemandem herausschießen. Heute gab es diverse Rücktrittsaufforderungen, da lernt man, was Solidarität in einer Partei bedeutet.' Kollenz simultaneously criticized the party's own leadership in the memo.

Verena Wiesinger, Vienna FiW chairwoman ('Frau in der Wirtschaft'), defended Ruck's record on women's advancement: 'Es ist sehr wichtig, dass Walter Ruck in den vergangenen Jahren Frauen motiviert und gefördert hat, sich als Funktionärinnen für ihre Branchen einzusetzen.' However, Kollenz's memo caused internal annoyance because it attacked the ÖVP's own leadership. Kollenz is one of Ruck's closest confidants.

The background to the affair is a phase