Burgenland Election: SPÖ Election Campaign Launched
In the opening statements, there were warnings of "chaos" at the federal level. The fact that the SPÖ was standing for election was not very visible - as already seen in the campaign subjects, the focus was on top candidate Governor Hans Peter Doskozil. He set himself the goal of establishing a care facility in every municipality.
Doskozil did not explicitly mention the government mandate to the FPÖ. Upon APA request, it was said afterwards that he had been convinced immediately after the election that there was no way around a government formation mandate to the election winner. After the "crashing failure" of the ÖVP, it was now expected that the Federal President would take this step.
In view of the "budget dilemma" - which the ÖVP had been clueless about, as he criticized - the governor fears cuts: "They will try to make cuts, for sure, concerning pensions." The same goes for the health sector. "There will be cuts where it affects the broad mass." However, these would not be put on the table before January 19th, he thinks, and announced: "We will maintain this self-confident thinking even against a federal government." Burgenland has already taken the opportunity and has gone to the Constitutional Court and this will be done again if necessary. Should the government overstep the constitutional bow and simply change measures at the retirement age, this will be checked and possibly a constitutional complaint will be filed. "For this, it is important to win elections," he emphasized.
Tojner Trial to Co-Finance Care
The dominant issue in the next legislative period will be care. Currently, 71 care support points are being planned. However, his goal is: "Every municipality needs its care facility." These are to be financed with money from a dispute with investor Michael Tojner about formerly non-profit housing companies ("Gesfö", "Riedenhof" and "Pannonia"). "We are in the final phase. The process is quite advanced. Our legal representative expects an indictment in the next weeks, months." Doskozil is "most likely" expecting a victory in this case and that the country will "get back a significant three-digit million amount": "We will dedicate this money to the expansion of the care facility in every municipality," he promised.
On the topic of affordable housing, he announced the results of a commissioned expert opinion on housing cooperatives. "I was always skeptical. Is everything above board? I am particularly skeptical when two banks own a non-profit cooperative," Doskozil explained the commissioning of an expert opinion. He did not want the results discussed during the election campaign, this would be "too unprofessional". "We will present the results in January after the election - why banks are diving into the non-profit sector and how they are pulling profits out of the non-profit sector." In January, they will "get money back" for these tenants.
"Minimum Wage Remains"
The minimum wage he pushed for started at 1,700 euros net and has now reached 2,300 euros net. Doskozil criticised politicians who doubt its feasibility, even within his own party: "I now believe that even social democratic politicians who are against the minimum wage and argue against it have no idea what it means to live on 1,600 euros." Those politicians should experience for themselves what it's like to be on the fringes of society: "Then politics would also be more humane. I miss that immensely now." He made a promise about the minimum wage, that there will be no departure from it in the next government: "The minimum wage stays."
Measures of the state government are not "paternalism", but an offer to the population. "But this offer only works if it can be financed in the long term. That is our daily challenge." Around the budget there are "many stories, untruths", so he addressed the critics: "We do not have a budget problem." And once again pointed out that the new Oberwart clinic, for example, was financed from the budget without borrowing: "This is not the case in any other federal state."
When he was in hospital in Leipzig for his last operation in November, a member of the "Saxon Separatists", the alleged right-wing terrorist group, who had resisted his arrest by the executive with armed force, had been operated on as an emergency. When you now hear that comrades of these "separatists" have connections to Austria, then "it sends shivers down your spine", Doskozil said. He also warned of a "destabilisation of society through misinformation".
Burgenland Election: Niessl Calls for "Clear Conditions"
Among the 2,500 guests at the campaign launch were former Defence Minister Norbert Darabos and Doskozil's predecessor as governor and party leader Hans Niessl. The latter pointed out in a brief statement from the visitor rows that Doskozil had already said after the national election that the result was not a mandate for the SPÖ to govern. He had never experienced such a situation in his long political career and emphasised that it would have been good if they had listened to Doskozil in Vienna: "We would have been spared the chaos." The former governor also highlighted the importance of the absolute majority - with which the SPÖ governs the country - and said that "clear conditions" would enable quick decisions: "We need clear conditions to be able to implement the successful Burgenland path."
State Managing Director Jasmin Puchwein also campaigned for the governor: "He is the guarantor of stability and implementation. He stands up for the high performers in the country. People have a need for security and he gives it to them." She pointed to the "achievements" of the red state government such as free kindergarten, free tutoring, the functioning health system and the employment of caring relatives. "Now we have to make sure that a broad majority re-elects him as governor." The ÖVP and FPÖ would only "badmouth" these measures and Doskozil. They have also already made a pact to get him out of the state government, according to Puchwein. The "chaos at the federal level" also shows: "Now is not the time for experiments, now is the time for stability and upswing."
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.