This conflict escalated in 2004, when at a party convention it was decided to enter the Party of the European Left. In the elections to the European parliament the KPÖ ran in a largely self-financed alliance (""Wahlbündnis LINKS"") with Leo Gabriel as the leading candidate. In an interview with the magazine profil, he spoke out against socialism, saying "I want a Europe of solidarity, not a socialist Europe", which sparked furious criticism from the internal party opposition. A further point of contention for the opposition was that the party, in the course of its entry to the European Left Party, had to drop its previous demand of an Austrian withdrawal from the European Union. Many party organisations therefore boycotted the election campaign. The election result of 0.77% (20,497 votes) was disappointing and meant a drop of 1,466 votes compared to the election results of 1999.