Culture: Kogler Wants to Cement Budget Commitments
"There are numerous important commitments that are being put into a firm format over the turn of the year," said Culture Minister Werner Kogler (Greens) on Thursday at the presentation of the Austrian contribution to the Venice Art Biennale 2026.
Kogler: "Then There Will Be a Ruckus!"
The contracts that legally bind the commitment of 600,000 euros in federal funds for the implementation of the Biennale contribution by Florentina Holzinger should also be issued as quickly as possible. With the major construction investments in the Belvedere, Art and Natural History Museum, as well as the relocation of the House of Austrian History into the Museum Quarter, he assumes that these are safe, as they were promised in coordination with the Ministry of Finance. "The budgetary requirements are met, here or there the contractual fixation still has to take place. We are doing that right now. I don't expect too many opportunities to unwind this." Wherever there are legally binding commitments, he expects them to be kept. And if not? "Then there will be a ruckus!" At the same time, they do not want to block all leeway for the new government. "We want to do it as correctly as possible."
Kogler reminded that due to democratic elections, changes in the federal government and political direction occur time and again, including in cultural policy. The fact that the selection of the Austrian contributions to the Biennales was placed in the hands of juries, for example, goes back to the turquoise Culture Minister Gernot Blümel and has always produced good results. "We will look at this in color if there should be any intervention."
Kogler Looked at Program in Styria
In the program of the blue-led new Styrian state government, "there is not as much evil or obscene as one might suspect based on the constellation". It could be that in addition to the commitment to folk culture, the realignment of politics with upcoming savings could lead to cuts in the avant-garde - "but this is not yet certain due to the wording of the program. It is always painful what can threaten. In this respect, it can also get rough here or there. But that is also part of democracy. In democracy, you don't have to put up with everything and can also decently resist, or rather stand up for something, which I generally prefer."
(APA/Red)
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