Vienna Chamber of Commerce: Resignation Debate Around President Ruck Following Leaked Statements

Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker (ÖVP), the Viennese ÖVP, and WKO President Martha Schultz have clearly distanced themselves from Ruck's statements and in some cases called for his resignation. On the Ö1 program "Mittagsjournal," political scientist Kathrin Stainer-Hämmerle analyzed: "If Christian Stocker now even turns to the public – if he cannot achieve the desired consequences from Walter Ruck through a personal phone call, then it shows that he actually risks appearing powerless and without influence in his own party in public."

Distance from His Own Party

Vienna's Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) reacted on Tuesday surprisingly with solidarity. He knows Ruck "differently," still has contact with him, and does not believe in a resignation. According to the protocol, Ruck is said to have said about Ludwig: "Michi, ich liebe jüdische Frauenrechte" – as an example of the casual handling of sensitive topics.

Former Viennese ÖVP chief Bernhard Görg, who appeared on ZiB 2 with Armin Wolf, did not want to join the chorus of resignation calls on Tuesday evening. "Ich habe den Instinkt eines Pferdes," Görg explained with a surprising image, stating why he does not join the broad calls for resignation: "Ich trete nie auf Menschen, die am Boden liegen." He added that even though he could understand the resignation calls on a factual level.

Görg Defends Ruck – With the Instinct of a Horse

Personally, Görg does not believe that Ruck will survive the affair: "Es wird sich einfach nicht ausgehen." The situation is "ein wunschloses Unglück der ÖVP" – a linguistic reference to Peter Handke. Görg also explained the traditional close relationship between chamber president and mayor: "Das sind ja Zweckfreundschaften". The president of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce as well as the mayor of Vienna benefited from joint appearances and images. The "presumed economic competence" of the chamber president radiated onto the mayor.

Görg referred to his own experiences as state party chairman in the 1990s. At that time, Vienna's Mayor Helmut Zilk had said in an interview about his relationship with the then chamber president Walter Nettig: "Der Präsident der Wirtschaftskammer ist Nettig, der Rest der ÖVP ist unnettig." – Meaning: unnecessary. Görg also sees the current problem as deeper: "Das Problem des Verhältnisses der Wiener Wirtschaftskammer zur ÖVP Wien ist ja viel größer als das Problem Ruck."

Ludwig Backs Ruck

"Normalerweise kann man so etwas politisch eigentlich nicht überstehen," Wolf summarized the initial situation in ZiB 2. When asked why Ruck apparently is so powerful in the Viennese ÖVP, Görg pointed to the Viennese power relations: "Wenn eine Partei, die unter zehn Prozent liegt, so darniederliegt, dann ist es sehr billig, auf die draufzuhauen." The ÖVP barely plays a role in Vienna anymore, which is why the chamber president can hold his own against any chairman.

Political scientist Peter Filzmaier saw an "Postenschacher" of the old school on Ö1's "Mittagsjournal": "Es wird das bestätigt, was der Volksmund meint: Eine kleine Gruppe älterer Herren macht sich was aus – das, was man allagssprachlich Postenschacher nennt." The concept of "exklusive Herrenrunden" testifies to a dusty understanding of politics that has no place in the year 2026.

Filzmaier sees the main damage with Ruck, but also "Flankentreffer für den Wiener Bürgermeister Ludwig." In principle, the political scientist notes: "Der Schaden ist für alle traditionellen Parteien gegeben." For the SPÖ, Babler's silence means, according to Filzmaier, a longer-term malus – "der sie bis zum Ende wahrscheinlich immer verfolgen würde".

Filzmaier: Postenschacher of the Old School

Laurenz Ennser-Jedenastik explained in the Salzburger Nachrichten that the leaked protocol shows, "dass die Leute, die an der Bundesspitze der ÖVP oder irgendeiner Organisation stehen, nicht unbedingt so mächtig sind, wie man es annehmen mag". This makes visible the weakness of the federal party vis-à-vis a Viennese state functionary.

Within the Vienna Chamber of Commerce, Ruck still has a broad home base: In May, 121 of 122 Viennese functionaries re-elected the president as chairman of the Viennese Wirtschaftsbund – although allegations of "Postenschacher" were already public at the time. In the last chamber of commerce election, the Wirtschaftsbund in Vienna also achieved less than 50.2 percent, but nevertheless received a narrow absolute majority of mandates. As a result, the SWV (Sozialdemokratischer Wirtschaftsverband) lacks around 200,000 euros in faction funding per year.

Legal Hurdles for a Removal

The legal assessment is complex. According to the Chamber of Commerce Act (WKG, Paragraph 53), removal is only possible in the event of a gross violation or neglect of legal duties. For a vote of no confidence, the Economic Parliament of the Vienna Chamber would be responsible according to Paragraph 54 – a path that would be politically delicate and legally narrowly limited.

The SPÖ leadership is also conspicuously restrained. SPÖ federal party chairman Andreas Babler has not publicly commented on the allegations so far. Yet the support of the Viennese SPÖ was decisive in Babler becoming SPÖ chairman in 2023. The silence is increasingly being perceived as a burden within the party.

NEOS women's spokesperson Henrike Holzleitner sharply criticized Ruck's statements: "Alles andere ist frauenfeindlich und demokratiegefährdend." Other mandataries also demanded clarification about the purchase resolution of an address in Vienna's inner city, which according to the protocol is said to have been made against a naming after the Jewish women's rights activist Anitta Müller-Cohen.

Babler's Silence as a Burden

The background of the affair also includes a dispute from September 2023: At that time, allegations against the Donaustadt district chief Ernst Nevrivy regarding the purchase of an allotment garden became public. Ludwig quickly demanded clarification at the time – which apparently did not sit well with Ruck. The difficult relationship between Ruck and his own ÖVP is also reflected in the fact that several chairmen of recent years were at odds with him.

Görg himself summed it up at the end of the broadcast: "Herr Wolf, Sie müssen bedenken: Kammerpräsidenten zeichnen sich immer durch eine große Eitelkeit aus." And further: "Kammerpräsidenten sind immer Unterstützer des jeweiligen Bürgermeisters gewesen." Despite all criticism of Ruck, the affair is a symptom of a larger structural problem – and "dieser Versuchung hat sich Walter Ruck nicht widersetzen können". Not everyone in the ÖVP has the "Instinkt eines Pferdes."