Austrian Elections & Politics 4.0

[DavidB.]

SPÖ flipflopped on this in government too, right?

Not a good look for the FPÖ, though, and I have the impression that the FPÖ have been slightly too strong in their wording regarding how they would stop CETA. I think many Austrians don't realize how much EU countries depend on free trade. There are some obvious issues with CETA, but in Austria I heard otherwise smart people saying that they might as well close their country off from foreign trade and become autarkic. This is something I have never heard in NL, because everyone realizes just how much we depend on trade (it's just so obvious given our history after all). Kneejerk anti-Americanism probably plays a huge role in the rejection of treaties like CETA in Austria, particularly among FPÖ voters. Hope this doesn't cost them too much in terms of trust and credibility.

[Tender Branson]

SPÖ flipflopped on this in government too, right?

Not a good look for the FPÖ, though, and I have the impression that the FPÖ have been slightly too strong in their wording regarding how they would stop CETA. I think many Austrians don't realize how much EU countries depend on free trade. There are some obvious issues with CETA, but in Austria I heard otherwise smart people saying that they might as well close their country off from foreign trade and become autarkic. This is something I have never heard in NL, because everyone realizes just how much we depend on trade (it's just so obvious given our history after all). Kneejerk anti-Americanism probably plays a huge role in the rejection of treaties like CETA in Austria, particularly among FPÖ voters. Hope this doesn't cost them too much in terms of trust and credibility.

Yes, the SPÖ also flip-flopped on CETA: Kern was first for it (even though more than 80% of the SPÖ-base were opposed to CETA in a membership poll) and now against it while in opposition.

I think many Austrians are well aware that we need free trade and the country is indeed very dependent on trade. But what Austrian voters do not want among TTIP, CETA, Mercosur etc. are 2 main things: A) the proposed arbitration court trials, which could rule in favour of companies for the sake of their increased profits and B) lower standards than ours (which are really high) on goods such as food. Take for example the Mercosur treaty, which would allow tons of cheap meat imports to the EU from huge farms in Argentina or Brazil, often with really crappy standards. There has actually been a scandal recently in Brazil regarding disgusting meat products. No sane Austrian would want these imports. Austrians are very proud of their biological products from the local small farms. Also, cheap meat imports from these large industrialized farms (who are only out for profit) would virtually destroy our small farmers. This is a very bad development.

[Tender Branson]

New Ö24/Research Affairs poll (n=1.008, May 10-16, online-interviews, MoE = +/- 3.5%):



http://www.oe24.at/oesterreich/politik/Strolz-Aus-schadet-Neos-nuetzt-Gruenen/333936049

Not factoring in the pro-CETA vote yet of the FPÖ 2 days ago.

[Tender Branson]

Good news for Carinthia, which has higher-than-average unemployment:

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[Tender Branson]

New IFAP poll for the September 2019 state election in Vorarlberg:

46% ÖVP (+4)
20% FPÖ (-3)
12% Greens (-5)
12% SPÖ (+3)
10% NEOS (+3)

http://www.vol.at/vorarlberger-favorisieren-laut-umfrage-schwarz-gruene-landesregierung/5789973

Current government is ÖVP-Greens.

[Tender Branson]

Chancellor Kurz was recently interrupted during a speech at a Climate Forum, by a 19-year old activist from "System Change, not Climate Change", who said: "We will hold you accountable on climate policy".



Kurz remained calm, said "I guess we'll share the microphone" when she jumped on stage and let her finish her brief speech ...

https://www.jetzt.de/politik/interview-mit-oesterreichischer-umwelt-aktivistin-die-kanzler-kurz-unterbrach

[Tender Branson]

Chancellor Kurz (ÖVP) remains very popular with voters, about half a year into his term - according to the new Ö24/Research Affairs poll:

65% approve of the work he is doing.

He's also by far the most popular cabinet member, getting a +38 score in the question "Do you have a positive impression of this politician ?" minus "Do you have a negative impression ?".

Many cabinet members are seen positively, such as Foreign Minister Kneissl (FPÖ) with a +11 score, or Finance Minister Löger (ÖVP) with +7.

President VdB is at +8, Norbert Hofer (FPÖ) at +4.

Many cabinet members are even.

The most unpopular cabinet members are Strache (FPÖ) at -17, Hartinger (FPÖ, Health Minister) at -12 and Kickl (FPÖ, Interior Minister) at -11.

The most unpopular politician surveyed though is Peter Pilz with a -30 score.

[Tender Branson]

Finally, justice for synchronised swimmer Vanessa Sahinovic - who in 2015 was run over by a bus during the European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan - and which left her paralyzed. The drunk bus driver was later jailed.

Azerbaijan initially promised to pay 1.8 million € in therapy costs for her, but later paid nothing at all - wanting to forget the case.

It was not until the new Vice-Chancellor and Minister for Sports, H.C. Strache (FPÖ), took up the case a few months ago, initiated meetings with top Azerbaijani officials and yesterday a payment of 500.000€ arrived.



Kira Grünberg (an MP for the ÖVP with a similar story, left) and Vanessa Sahinovic (right).

https://www.bbc.com/sport/swimming/33108048

http://www.krone.at/1710887

Thank You, Strache.

[Tender Branson]

Over the Pentecoste weekend, ÖVP+FPÖ finalized their next big policy issue: the reform of Austria's Health Care System.

The 21 providers will be merged into 5, making them apparently even more efficient with less bureaucracy and by not compensating for future retirement of current workers via new hirings. This will save some 1 Bio. € a year by 2023. This saved money will be used for better health care of the population.

The detailed plans will be presented tomorrow and passed in their cabinet council on Wednesday.

https://kurier.at/politik/inland/einsparungen-von-einer-milliarde/400038091

This comes after the federal ÖVP+FPÖ government recently struck a deal with the state governors (also from the SPÖ) about financing care for the elderly, after abolition of the care recourse last year by SPÖVP (which left a hole in the budget).

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

So is the Austrian healthcare system a sort of multiplayer system where all the providers are nationalised? What is the Austrian healthcare system like, anyways?

[Tender Branson]

So is the Austrian healthcare system a sort of multiplayer system where all the providers are nationalised? What is the Austrian healthcare system like, anyways?

It's a decentralized single-payer system (there's a national umbrella organisation under which all 21 current providers are associated, but because the states and professional interest groups always wanted some influence historically, they all operate(d) kinda independently from each other ... not any longer of course, because they have a joint IT database, where one provider has access to the other etc.)

Here is an in-depth review:

www.lse.ac.uk/business-and-consultancy/consulting/assets/documents/efficiency-review-of-austrias-social-insurance-and-healthcare-system.pdf

(start reading at page 50 for the relevant stuff ...)

[Tender Branson]

Public party financing numbers for 2018 were released today:

Austrian parties on the federal and state level are getting almost 200 Mio. € this year, with the ÖVP getting the most. More than 2/3 of the money is paid to the state parties, which also explains why the Greens still get more public funding than NEOS, despite not being in parliament anymore. Vienna is the most generous, handing out 33€ per eligible voter.

[Tender Branson]

Besides the presentation of the healthcare system reform by ÖVP-FPÖ today, there were two big surprises:

* Peter Pilz, the leader of the "List Pilz", was cleared of all charges by the state prosecution office related to his "sex scandal", which led to him not taking his seat in parliament. Pilz now plans to return as MP by June or July, but it is not clear which (if any) of the current List Pilz MPs will resign their seat, so he can take it ...

https://derstandard.at/2000080174233/Innsbrucker-Staatsanwaltschaft-stellt-Ermittlungen-gegen-Pilz-ein

* Peter Gridling, suspended leader of the Austrian Intelligence Service BVT, was re-instated by a court ruling. Gridling was suspended by the current FPÖ-Interior Minister Herbert Kickl in the "BVT scandal", a very dubious story which I already posted about.

https://derstandard.at/2000080176867/BVT-Affaere-Suspendierung-Gridlings-vom-BVwG-offenbar-aufgehoben

[Tender Branson]

Pretty interesting, considering the ÖVP-FPÖ government is in charge:

Austria cracks down on far-right Identitarian Movement

Analysts say arrests of Identitarians could be 'major blow' to the anti-migrant, anti-Muslim group.

A slew of charges against several members of the far-right Identitarian Movement in Austria could be a "major blow" to the organisation's ability to mobilise, experts and analysts say.

Last week, prosecutors in Graz announced that 17 members and "sympathisers" of the Identitarian Movement were charged with a slew of offences, including forming a criminal organisation, hate speech, property damage and coercion.

Among those arrested and charged were leading figure Patrick Lenart and Martin Sellner, the group's de facto spokesperson.

Analysts and observers say the movement is part of a far-right international network that advocates for the expulsion of refugees and migrants from European countries.

The UK-based HOPE Not Hate group, which monitors the far right, explained that the charges could affect both the Austrian branch and the wider Identitarian Movement (also known as Generation Identity).

Simon Murdoch, a researcher at HOPE Not Hate, said the arrests "could really undermine their Austria branch", which is a pivotal segment of the broader movement.

"As it is one of the oldest, it is both one of the most extensive and most tried-and-tested branches of the [Identitarian] movement," Murdoch told Al Jazeera.

"Given how pivotal the branch is to the movement, therefore, this will no doubt have a real knock-on effect."

Speaking to Al Jazeera by email, Sellner said police raided his home and nine others when they carried out the arrests.

He was released after interrogation.

Sellner decried the charges as "a severe act of repression" and said the government is seeking to "criminalise patriotic protest".

"We are criticising the Islamisation of Europe," he said.

"We believe that [the charges are] not supported by the majority of Austrians, as [they have] already received a lot of criticism from many prominent voices."

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/05/austria-cracks-identitarian-movement-180517105634855.html

[Tender Branson]

I don't really see ÖVP-FPÖ's healthcare/insurance provider reform as really positive or negative in the short term: In fact, after reading their proposals today, I don't think a whole lot will change for patients or doctors. The most affected will likely be the administrative workers in the newly merged providers, who will have much more work to do because retiring workers won't be replaced any longer, generating a lot of savings within the system.

These savings will then be used on better care for patients and a bonus system for potential new rural doctors (which is a good thing). Currently, most doctors in rural areas are approaching retirement age and the young doctors out of university and training are most likely to end up in the big cities and suburbs or in Germany. Virtually no young doctor wants to go (back) to the rural areas because these jobs are often 24/7/365 jobs.

Only time will tell if their reform is any good.

https://www.wienerzeitung.at/nachrichten/oesterreich/politik/966056_OeVP-und-FPOe-einigen-sich-auf-Reform.html

[DavidB.]

Pretty interesting, considering the ÖVP-FPÖ government is in charge:

Austria cracks down on far-right Identitarian Movement

Is this driven by judges/public prosecutors, or did the government and Kickl actively make decisions here? In the latter case it's difficult to wrap my head around it. Generation Identity don't seem to be that radical, and freedom of association is a pretty fundamental right. Though the FPÖ probably doesn't appreciate the competition...

[Tender Branson]

Pretty interesting, considering the ÖVP-FPÖ government is in charge:

Austria cracks down on far-right Identitarian Movement

Is this driven by judges/public prosecutors, or did the government and Kickl actively make decisions here? In the latter case it's difficult to wrap my head around it. Generation Identity don't seem to be that radical, and freedom of association is a pretty fundamental right. Though the FPÖ probably doesn't appreciate the competition...

Independent public prosecutors.

[Tender Branson]

Vienna's city council will elect the city's new mayor today, Michael Ludwig - after current mayor Michael Häupl retires after 25 years in office.

Will be interesting to see if Ludwig gets the 51 votes that are necessary (after all the infights in the SPÖ and within the Greens lately).

Otherwise: snap elections.

[Tender Branson]

Vienna's city council will elect the city's new mayor today, Michael Ludwig - after current mayor Michael Häupl retires after 25 years in office.

Will be interesting to see if Ludwig gets the 51 votes that are necessary (after all the infights in the SPÖ and within the Greens lately).

Otherwise: snap elections.

Michael Ludwig elected new Vienna mayor with 56 votes out of 99 valid votes cast (1 vote was invalid).

That was surprising, because the SPÖ+Green city government only has 54/100 seats in the council, so Ludwig also got votes from the opposition - despite FPÖ, ÖVP & NEOS saying before that they won't vote for him ...



Ludwig also presented his new cabinet (4/6 SPÖ-members are new) for the remaining 2.5 years of his term and outlined some goals that are important to him, such as creating an interreligious center in the urban planning area of Aspern in Northern Vienna, which will see 30.000 new housing units in the next few years (in fact, it is Europe's biggest urban planning/construction area right now).



Outgoing mayor Michael Häupl delivered a farewell speech and then got standing ovations for 15 minutes:



http://wien.orf.at/news/stories/2914606

[Tender Branson]

Yesterday, Vice-Chancellor Strache (FPÖ) visited Brussels for an EU Council meeting where he talked about immigration.

Some of his remarks led to criticism by the ÖVP's European Parliament MPs:

https://derstandard.at/2000080342637/OeVP-stellt-sich-gegen-Straches-Kritik-an-Frontex

https://diepresse.com/home/ausland/aussenpolitik/5434452/Strache_Frontex-ist-Schlepperorganisation

Strache called Frontex "anything else than a border-security-agency and largely a human smuggling organisation, which transports migrants to Europe rather than taking them back to Africa right away. And therefore needs reform."

[Tender Branson]

The new Salzburg state government will be presented tomorrow.

Coalition talks between ÖVP+Greens+NEOS after the state election a month ago have come to a positive conclusion.

It will be the first time that NEOS is represented in any government on the state level.

The ÖVP will get 5 seats in the new government, Greens and NEOS 1 each.

Party committees will meet on Sunday to vote on the coalition contract. The Greens will also elect a new party leader there, after their election loss and the resignation of Astrid Rössler.

http://salzburg.orf.at/news/stories/2914682

The ÖVP won the state election with 38% (+9%), the Greens got 9% (-11%) and NEOS 7% (+7%).

[Tender Branson]

South Tyrol (= part of Italy) will have a state election on October 21st.



South Tyrol once belonged to the Austrian (German-speaking) state of Tyrol as a whole, but was awarded to Italy after WW1.

Currently, about 70% of the residents there belong to the German-speaking group, 26% to the Italian-speaking group (mostly in the capital Bozen) and 4% to the Ladin-speaking group.

South Tyrol is the wealthiest region in Italy, has the lowest unemployment rate and contrary to Italy, which now has a huge birth deficit - also a positive natural population growth rate.



Therefore it is not surprising that the centrist, economy-minded SVP (People's Party) always does pretty well in state elections. For most of the time they got an absolute majority, but lost it in 2013 and formed a coalition with the PD.



Arno Kompatscher, Governor (SVP).

There's a new internal GfK poll out for the SVP which shows the following:

40% SVP
18% F (= Freedomites, close to the Austrian FPÖ - want big autonomy for South Tyrol)
  8% M5S
  7% SF (= South Tyrolian Freedom, also close to the FPÖ - want a merger with Austria)
  7% Greens
  5% Lega
  5% PD
10% Others

The SVP would lose 6% compared with 2013 and the PD 2%. The Greens lose 2%.

F and SF would remain virtually unchanged.

The winners would be M5S (+5.5%) and Lega (+2.5%), reflecting national Italian trends in the small Italian-speaking group.

https://www.sn.at/politik/weltpolitik/suedtiroler-landtagswahl-findet-am-21-oktober-statt-27675997

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Bit irredentist putting South Tyrol here, lol.

[Tender Branson]

Bit irredentist putting South Tyrol here, lol.

Since I'm a supporter of the status-quo, no.

I just think that coverage on this election is better suited to be in my thread, not the Italian one.

[parochial boy]

I know a South Tyrloean. Once asked him if he felt at all Austrian.


Let's just say he wasn't impressed