It sits with the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament; of Austria's 19 MEPs, five are members of the SPÖ.

In 1970, the SPÖ became the largest party for the first time in post-war history, and Bruno Kreisky became Chancellor, winning three consecutive majorities (1971, 1975, and 1979).

Since 2017, the SPÖ have been the primary opposition to the ÖVP governments of Sebastian Kurz, Alexander Schallenberg, and Karl Nehammer.

The more left-wing Social Democrats, such as Max Adler, relied on the Workers' councils that had developed throughout Central Europe in 1918–1919, particularly in Vienna.

The economic crisis of the 1930s, which caused factory closures and increased unemployment, weakened the labor movement and with it the SDAPÖ.

This socialist experiment, supported by some renowned intellectuals such as Otto Neurath and Sigmund Freud, also inspired a violent disgust in conservative circles.

[12] When Anschluss took place in 1938 at the hands of Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany, he brought Austria into the Second World War.

During this period, the grand coalition combined with the Proporz system, whereby important posts throughout the government were shared out between members of the two main parties, evoked rising discontent.

The following year, the FPÖ and ÖVP formed a right-wing coalition, displacing the SPÖ from a share in government.

In March 2023, the situation came to a head after the SPÖ Burgenland stopped paying money to the federal party.

[13][14][15] At the 2024 Austrian legislative election the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) won just 21.1%, marking its worst result ever in the National Council.

Concerning the role of the SDAPÖ during Nazi rule from 1938 to 1945, the party started opening its archives and set in a commission to investigate its past conduct.

Alfred Gusenbauer issued a declaration promising and supporting a full and open investigation ("Klarheit in der Vergangenheit – Basis für die Zukunft").

One example given in the report is the case of Heinrich Gross, who received many honours from the party and even the government in the post-war period.

This was despite the fact that he worked as a Nazi doctor in the euthanasia ward Am Spiegelgrund in Vienna, where human experiments on children were performed.

The Austrian judicial system protected him for a very long time from any kind of prosecution, something that was very typical in the post-war period.

Reflecting the change in attitude towards the past, President Heinz Fischer in a 10 April 2006 interview with the liberal newspaper Der Standard strongly criticised Austria's view on its historical role during Nazi rule.

The Moscow Declaration of 1943 by émigrés which called for the independence of Austria from Nazi Germany was a problem since it stated that the war was neither started nor wanted by any Austrian ("Und das ist nicht richtig"), that Austrian Jewish victims were not mentioned in the declaration ("kein Wort für die jüdischen Opfer"), that it took decades for them to receive any kind of compensation and justice from the government and that it was regrettable and inexcusable.

His statements were direct criticism of the right-wing government of the coalition ÖVP–FPÖ which rejected compensation to victims and the admission of the co-guilt Austrians carried for crimes committed by them during the Second World War.

After the founding of the SDAPÖ in 1889, a youth organization was established on 4 November 1894, with the purpose of protecting apprentices and addressing the concerns of young people within the party.

[16] To address these issues, the SPÖ established a youth organization called the Young Generation (JG) on 22 January 1958.

[17] The creation of the JG was not only a response to the disappointing results in the 1956 national elections, particularly among young voters, but also an effort to manage the increasingly strained relationship with the SJÖ.

[18] Over time, the JG has evolved into a parallel structure, closely aligned with the SPÖ and more in line with the party's objectives than the SJÖ.

Many influential politicians have emerged from the ranks of the SJÖ, including figures like Bruno Kreisky and Andreas Babler, who have significantly shaped the party's direction.

However, the SJÖ is not the only youth organization that has produced notable leaders; the JG has also been a breeding ground for politicians who have gone on to make their mark on the SPÖ.

The SPÖ used to be strong in Carinthia as it regularly won the most seats in state elections and the governors used to be Social Democrats until 1989.

This constellation is in question after the chairperson of the Carinthian SPÖ Gabi Schauning decided to resign from her post as Vice-Governor of Carinthia after a fall-out with Haider.

The winner of the election was the ÖVP under long-term governor Günther Platter, which received 44,3% of the total vote.