PES President Stefan Löfven met with SPÖ Mayor of Vienna Michael Ludwig in Vienna today and held a series of other important meetings. The PES President was accompanied in the Austrian capital by PES Secretary General Giacomo Filibeck.
The PES President held a fruitful dialogue with Mayor Ludwig regarding our renewed focus on affordable housing in the EU and the Party of European Socialists (PES) ‘s position on recent global developments.
Mayor Ludwig and President Löfven both welcomed the fact that the housing crisis is recognised as a European problem and is being tackled jointly with the strong involvement of social democrats. Stefan Löfven expressed the full support of the PES for Michael Ludwig as the lead candidate of the SPÖ list for Vienna at the Austrian Local elections scheduled for April. PES President Stefan Löfven said:
‘‘As Austria will shortly be celebrating the founding of the Second Republic, we are reminded of the importance of standing together cohesively in the face of great uncertainty. As Europeans we are stronger together and we will face the challenges to come as one continent. We must not succumb to populist forces. SPÖ represents the strongest democratic force in Austria, and the party that will always deliver on behalf of all Austrians.
Vienna stands as a shining example of a progressive city governed by socialists since 1945, and it should remain that way after this April.”
Commenting on the meeting SPÖ Mayor of Vienna Michael Ludwig said:
‘‘For over a hundred years, Vienna has a proud tradition and expertise in the field of social housing, leading the way in Europe. The Social Summit in Gothenburg in 2017, initiated by Stefan Löfven, provided the decisive impetus for the European Pillar of Social Rights. The way was clear for a more social and fairer European Union. Now we are continuing to work together on a common European housing policy.’’
The PES delegation in Vienna extended our support to our full member party SPÖ and its leader Andreas Babler in the decisive coalition talks in Austria.
At the invitation of former Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel, the PES President spoke at the meeting of the Foreign Policy and United Nations Association – Austria.
In Vienna Stefan Löfven met with participants of the International Leadership Programme Austria as well.
