Lower Austria Tightens Rules: Legislative Package Against Radical Islam Completed

The decision is planned for the state parliament session on April 30. Integration refusers will be dealt with harshly, emphasized the club leaders Jochen Danninger (ÖVP) and Reinhard Teufel (FPÖ) in a statement. Fines of up to 2,500 euros are threatened.

The action plan against radical Islam, presented by Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner (ÖVP) and Deputy Governor Udo Landbauer (FPÖ), includes several sub-areas. An important step is the necessary adjustments in five state laws, it was explained. "Everyone who lives in Lower Austria must adhere to our laws, social values, and norms. Especially in our kindergartens and schools - because that is where the foundation is laid for how we live together as a society. All levers that we as a state have in our hands will be set in motion," emphasized the club chairmen of the People's Party and the Freedom Party.

Parental Duty to Participate in Kindergarten "Set to Sharp"

"We will hold parents significantly more accountable in the future," said Danninger. "Respect, decency, and the observance of our manners must be a matter of course for immigrants." The duty of parents to participate in kindergarten will now be "set to sharp," according to the ÖVP club leader. If guardians, for example, do not attend the mandatory parent-teacher meeting because they do not want to speak with a kindergarten teacher, they can be fined in the future. "Fines of up to 2,500 euros or up to six weeks of substitute imprisonment are threatened."

"Integration refusers will feel even more clearly in the future that we do not want them in Lower Austria," Danninger further stated. With the legislative package, a hard line will also be continued in the state service. "We have zero tolerance for Islamist extremism, oppression, or radicalism. Through a burqa ban in the state service, we make it clear: This symbol of oppression has no place in our offices. Members of radical Islamist associations also have no place in the state service. Anyone who does not comply will be dismissed." Even if there is currently no known case, the tightening makes it clear that there is no room for integration refusers in Lower Austria.

Clear Stance and "Red Card"

"We are taking a clear stance against political Islam, which has spread with uncontrolled mass immigration in Austria," emphasized the Freedom Party club chairman in the Lower Austrian state parliament. "We are utilizing all measures that we as the state of Lower Austria can implement, with a clear commitment to our values, local customs and traditions, the rules threatened with penalties in the kindergarten and school sector, the ban on veiling in the public service, the state security council, and the observatory." The radical Islam will be shown "the red card." According to Teufel, the federal government should urgently and immediately consider a ban on political Islam, taking into account the atrocities of the recent past.

Drain the Islamist Swamps

"Radical Islam is the greatest threat to our way of life. This was demonstrated not least by the knife attack in Villach. Therefore, we are utilizing all legal options in Lower Austria to drain the Islamist swamps," stated Governor Mikl-Leitner. "Those who adapt and contribute to a successful coexistence are welcome. Those who oppose our community must now face harsh consequences."

Mikl-Leitner also sees the federal government as being called upon to "do its part and implement the severe penalties we are introducing for parents of families unwilling to integrate in kindergarten, also in schools." A penalty framework of 2,500 euros is "an effective lever for all those who have so far refused to contribute to the integration of their children."

"Radical Islam is a real danger to our homeland, our children, and our freedom," emphasized FPÖ state party leader and Deputy Governor Landbauer. "In Lower Austria, we are pulling the emergency brake and implementing what is possible under state law." Landbauer continued: "We are ending years of looking the other way and sugarcoating. Those who trample on our values, who despise our homeland, and place Islam above our laws and freedom must feel the consequences." The action plan is rounded off by an amendment to the Lower Austrian state constitution: Values such as "humanity, justice, and the commitment to our traditions and homeland" are to be explicitly enshrined as objectives in the future, according to Landbauer.

"It is good when the federal states exhaust their possibilities, because only together will we be able to bring people to integrate with emphasis. If necessary, also with sanctions," stated Integration Minister Claudia Plakolm (ÖVP) in a written statement: "Those who live with us must become part of it. They must learn the German language, want to work, and adhere to our values."

FPÖ General Secretary Michael Schnedlitz welcomed the action plan and renewed the demand for a prohibition law against political Islam in a press release: "Radical Islamist structures, associations, and mosques that serve as breeding grounds for extremist ideologies must be closed and banned - anything else is a security risk for our population that should not be tolerated for another day." A demand for an asylum stop was also made.

(APA/Red)

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