Vienna City Council Addresses Security Issues in Special Session
The request for the special session of the Vienna city council on security issues came from the FPÖ, which criticized both the SPÖ and Mayor Michael Ludwig as well as the ÖVP. According to the FPÖ, the ÖVP contributes to the growing insecurity in Vienna. However, the FPÖ also faced criticism in the Vienna city council.
Vienna City Council: FPÖ Against Nighttime Closure of Police Stations
The police, according to the FPÖ, are being starved in Vienna. Ludwig responds to the situation with "placebo actions" like the alcohol ban in front of the Floridsdorf station, complained FPÖ leader Dominik Nepp. He was convinced that the situation was also due to the "wrong policy of welcoming culture." At the same time, Nepp criticized that the ÖVP at the federal level had refused to cooperate with the FPÖ. Together, they could have strengthened the police, for example, through a personnel offensive. Instead, there are currently the "miserable closures" of police stations at night. "That was a black attack on the security of Vienna," said Nepp, who urged for a security councilor like in Linz for Vienna. The FPÖ once again opposed the "mass surveillance" of social networks. They know the target groups, while "normal Austrians" should not be put under general suspicion. "Leave the normal people in this country alone," demanded the FPÖ club chairman Maximilian Krauss.
NEOS Warn in Vienna City Council of Online Radicalization
NEOS representative Jörg Konrad warned of young people who do not accept the values of an open and pluralistic society - and who would radicalize on platforms like TikTok. Measures at the local level, such as a city watch, cannot address this. Instead, much tougher action must be taken at the European level against this danger. Therefore, close cooperation of intelligence services is necessary. It is good that the FPÖ did not gain access to the constitutional protection, which they had already severely damaged once, as Konrad noted. Progress must also be made in deporting criminal refugees. "The European Union is also called upon here, which wants to weaken the FPÖ."
Vienna City Council: Greens Remind of Right-Wing Extremist Incidents
Berivan Aslan of the Greens accused the FPÖ of failing to bring more police onto the streets when they led the Ministry of the Interior. Instead, the constitutional protection was damaged. In Lower Austria, there has also been a massive increase in right-wing extremist incidents recently, and FPÖ candidates there have downplayed the prohibition law. Numerous weapons arsenals from the right-wing extremist sector have been uncovered in recent years, emphasized the Green politician. "And what does the FPÖ do? They look away?" A headscarf ban in kindergartens will not deradicalize a single Islamist. Furthermore, the FPÖ opposes the monitoring of right-wing extremists.
ÖVP Demands Video Surveillance Offensive in Vienna City Council
Vienna's ÖVP leader Karl Mahrer stated that neither the SPÖ, the Greens, the NEOS, nor the FPÖ could be trusted. "If you wish for Vienna to become safer in many areas, then the Vienna ÖVP is the only right choice," he declared. He called for the introduction of a city watch and more police. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) has already taken steps to increase personnel, he assured. Vienna needs a fresh start in education and integration policy as well as a security offensive, Mahrer noted. He demanded a video surveillance offensive for public spaces. At least 5,000 additional cameras are necessary. Alcohol prohibition zones should also be extended to all transport hubs, he demanded.
Vienna City Council: SPÖ Reminds of Federal Responsibility for Police
SPÖ councilor Christian Hursky sarcastically described demands for a security councilor or a city watch as "wonderful." According to the federal constitution, the police are responsible for security, he pointed out. The highest authority is the Ministry of the Interior, which has been in ÖVP hands for 25 years - with a "very bad interruption" by the FPÖ. The SPÖ has been demanding more police for many years, and now the People's Party also recognizes that this is necessary, he noted.
What a city watch consisting of already deployed organs could actually achieve is questionable, Hursky said. "You want to send a young woman from parking surveillance onto the street to ensure security?" She already often has to call the police for unruly drivers, he reported. Video surveillance in public spaces is also often difficult to implement due to data protection regulations. However, Hursky also emphasized that cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior does not inherently function poorly. The alcohol ban at Praterstern, for example, is a success story. Interior Minister Karner has also advocated for the weapons prohibition zone in Favoriten.
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.