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Vienna – Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) sees no need for an austerity package after the Austrian National Council election. Rather, the budget can be stabilized “through more economic growth,” Nehammer said confidently in an APA interview. Despite contrary polls, Nehammer believes he will come in first place in the election at the end of September. Rumors that a coalition between the conservative ÖVP, the social democratic SPÖ, and the liberal NEOS has already been agreed upon were dismissed by the Chancellor as “misinformation” and a “disinformation campaign.”
Experts from research institutes such as IHS and Wifo and the Fiscal Council recently advocated for short-term austerity packages in the billions after years of billion-dollar deficits and in view of the projected high budget deficit until 2028. “I have a contrary opinion on that,” Nehammer countered. It is important to discuss how to achieve more growth in Austria again, i.e., to relieve businesses and industry and give them the opportunity to invest. “Through more economic growth, I also have the chance to actually stabilize the budget.” The Chancellor wants to implement measures in areas such as the taxation of overtime or payroll taxes. “Competitiveness is a big issue, and generating more growth through this competitiveness is something I think makes sense.”
Nehammer emphasized that the warnings and admonitions are taken seriously, but pointed out that a “stable budget” had been achieved and “that the rating agencies have confirmed this path for us so far.” Unlike other countries in the European Union, Austria has not received a warning letter from the Commission that the budget is not functioning. Nehammer rejected the notion that he did not want to address cuts because the country is in the middle of a super election year: “No, the issue is actually that we have already achieved really impressive successes in many areas,” such as the investment premium.
His goal for the Austrian National Council elections on September 29 is “of course to be first,” Nehammer said confidently. He aims to achieve “the best possible result through the voters,” adding, “I am also running again to get the mandate to lead a government.” Nehammer did not want to commit to a specific number. In 2019, the ÖVP achieved 37.5 percent. It is “not really useful” to compare election results from past years, “because it always massively depends on the circumstances under which the elections took place,” the past years have been “more than challenging.”
Nehammer said he does not contemplate at what point he would step down from the party leadership, as he aims to achieve “the most significant mandate from the voters.” In the election campaign, people can see who has which program. “Performance, family, and security are particularly important to me,” the ÖVP leader emphasized: “Putting the hard-working people in the spotlight,” family “as the nucleus of the state,” and in terms of security, the “fight against illegal migration” and strengthening the police and the military.
However, the right-wing populist FPÖ has been leading in the polls for months. Nehammer remains optimistic, recalling the EU election in June, “which showed how much polls are worth in reality.” The election was indeed won by the Freedom Party. “Yes, but the gap between the People’s Party and the Freedom Party was only 0.8 percent; some polls had predicted a gap of ten percent,” Nehammer countered. “And the dynamic of an election campaign, the opportunity to engage with the issues, is only now really beginning for people. Therefore, I find it very likely that we can succeed, that people will give us the mandate, and we will cross the finish line first.”
When asked whether it would be politically legitimate in terms of democracy to claim the chancellorship as the second-placed party, the ÖVP leader said, “everything has already happened in Austria,” as it always depends on how a parliamentary majority is formed. Nehammer did not reveal with which party he would prefer to form a coalition. The crucial question is “where are the constructive forces within the political parties and where the destructive ones,” he said. “You can’t form a government and certainly not a stable parliamentary majority with destructive forces.” The Chancellor observed that the left and the right are “radicalizing” more and more away from the center. “My offer is to live the politics of reason, stability, and the center,” and after the election to invite those who are interested in working together. “There are forces that only live off the problem but do not want to solve it; with them, it will be difficult to find constructive cooperation.”
Nehammer does not want a government with FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl, but he still does not rule out the FPÖ as a coalition partner. He knows “many reasonable forces” within the Blues, with whom he also maintains “good communication.” Currently, they have little opportunity “to live out their vision of politics” because Kickl and his circle “are very dominant – but that doesn’t mean it has to stay that way after the election.”
The current government is still working, the Chancellor assured, pointing to agreements such as the pension increase this week. Recently, the coalition agreed on a new EU Commissioner, namely Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP). Explaining why he chose Brunner over Constitutional Minister Karoline Edtstadler (ÖVP), who was also interested in the job, the Chancellor said, “It’s a fact that Magnus Brunner, from his previous work, represents the broadest offer for this particular position and in terms of the EU agenda. Especially when it comes to making Europe more competitive again.” Finance ministers also play “a very important role in the EU; they are therefore well-regarded in the Commission.” Nehammer did not specify which exact portfolio he wishes for Brunner but emphasized that the Commission “urgently needs to catch up in strengthening Europe as a business location.”
Negotiations between the turquoise-green coalition in the area of justice for an Attorney General are “difficult”: “The coalition partner has so far not been willing to move further in our direction,” Nehammer regretted. Referring to the current security debate, Nehammer pointed to investments in the police, such as equipping patrol officers with tasers in Vienna. There are also intense efforts to repatriate criminals to areas such as Syria or Afghanistan. (08/05/2024)