The Most Expensive Unemployed People in Vienna

It is absolutely understandable that the headline "9000 euros in social assistance for a Syrian large family in Vienna," which has been reported by (seemingly) all media in one form or another, has become one of the most clicked these days. Who, please, is supposed to understand that? The average household income is far below that. And usually, something is done in return for it. In this respect, it seems like an imposition, even if it is for a family with eleven children and consists of social, housing, and family allowances.

However, an imposition is also something entirely different, which would also deserve to be a cause for outrage but is not: So that the SPÖ can continue to have six members in the Vienna city government, they will expand it to a total of 13 with the help of the Neos. Side effect: In the future, there will no longer be five, but six non-executive city councilors.

When he was still a smaller and rather unknown opposition politician, the current Minister of Education and still Neos city chief Christoph Wiederkehr spoke of "white elephants" and the "most expensive unemployed in Vienna." Which he hit the nail on the head: Their main purpose is to do nothing, confirmed political scientist Laurenz Ennser-Jedenastik on the "WZ" page.

The thing is: As in all municipalities, proportional representation governs in Vienna. All parties are therefore represented in the city government according to their size or share of the vote. Even opposition parties. However, they have nothing to say and therefore only appoint non-executive city councilors. Worse: They are royally paid for doing nothing. Currently, there is 11,326.40 euros per month. That makes around 160,000 euros annually. Even worse: Their parties additionally have the right to two service posts, which are paid a total of almost 170,000 euros annually.

As mentioned, there have been five non-executive city councilors so far, in the future there will be six: Three from the Freedom Party, two from the Greens, and one from the People's Party. In total, this costs taxpayers not 1.6, but almost two million euros per year.

Even if the 11,326.40 euros may be gross (but 14 times a year) as opposed to social benefits, one can really speak of the "most expensive unemployed in Vienna." Only: It hardly upsets anyone. Little is noticeable in the media. Because it is tax money that is not for foreigners, but for nationals? Or because there can be no talk of "immigration into the social system" here?

The fact is, however, that no party has a problem with the fact that everyone is more or less silent because they are biased: SPÖ and Neos are responsible for the expansion of the circle of non-executive city councilors; after all, they are the ones enlarging the government. The FPÖ, the Greens, and the ÖVP, in turn, are allowed to appoint non-executive city councilors, thus benefiting from the fact that they still exist despite all austerity measures.

Johannes Huber runs the blog dieSubstanz.at – Analyses and Backgrounds on Politics

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.