Austria (Muhammad Amir Siddique )Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz faces re-election as chairman of the People’s Party at the ÖVP federal party conference on Saturday in St. Pölten.
With 98.7 percent of the delegate votes when he took office for the first time in 2017, the bar is high for Kurz. Thematically, the party leadership is once again relying on the long-running issue of migration – even with substantive swipes against the green coalition partner, no savings are made. Migration, economy, digitization, care and the climate crisis are the thematic priorities of the party congress. Specifically, the ÖVP will vote on a key proposal that specifies a tough migration course. For example, it is required that social benefits are linked to the prerequisites for successful integration. Integration through performance is to be promoted by expanding German and values courses and tying social benefits to the prerequisites for successful integration.”Our fight against illegal migration and human smugglers must be resolutely continued”, the ÖVP affirmed its position in advance. In addition, “political Islam” must continue to be fought consistently, “by increasing control over political organizations, resolutely taking action against hatred and extremism on the internet and creating a ban on Sharia law”. These ideas will of course be difficult to implement with the Greens. Another topic of the lead proposal is the economic upswing after the coronavirus crisis. The ÖVP wants to reduce the wage tax scale levels further and thus lower the tax and contribution rate towards 40 percent. With a start-up package, the business location is to be strengthened and business start-ups are to be de-bureaucratised and simplified. Another focus is digitization. Among other things, all students are to be equipped with laptops. The ÖVP also wants a home care bonus. When it comes to climate protection, they want to “rely on technology openness in mobility and synthetic fuels instead of hostility towards cars and stopping the streets” – admittedly a point against the coalition partner, since Climate Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) had prescribed the evaluation of all ASFINAG construction projects. Furthermore, local food should be given priority, “climate-friendly forests” should be built and sustainable farms should be promoted. Result expected in the afternoon. A rough schedule is already known: The preliminary program begins at 12 noon, moderated by Peter L. Eppinger. The official part of the party congress starts at 1 p.m. with words of welcome from the hostess, Lower Austria’s Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner. Before Kurz addresses the 1,000 delegates, club chairman August Wöginger gives a speech. A strict coronavirus security concept applies, according to the ÖVP. The election is scheduled for 3 p.m. In addition to Kurz, his deputies are also elected. The current vice-presidents, Upper Austria’s governor Thomas Stelzer, the Bregenz city councilor Veronika Marte and the Styrian economic councilor Barbara Eibinger-Miedl will run again, as will financial advisor Andreas Ottenschläger. The result will be announced at around 4 p.m. by the Tyrolean governor Günther Platter, who acts as election supervisor. Afterwards, Kurz should speak up again. Kurz is the fourth party leader, who this year has to face an internal party election. Before him did Beate Meinl-Reisinger from NEOS and Herbert Kickl, who took over the FPÖ from Norbert Hofer. Kickl got 88.24 percent, Meinl-Reisinger 93 percent. SPÖ leader Pamela Rendi-Wagner had to face weeks of debates after a meager result of only 75 percent. Briefly, the bar set high in his first freestyle 2017: In the vote at the party congress four years ago, he received 98.7 percent of the delegate’s votes and thus the second-best result in recent party history, the record of 99.1 percent continues to be held by his predecessor, of all things Reinhold Mitterlehner. Kurz’s election as party chairman took place in a completely different light at the time: Mitterlehner had resigned only a few weeks earlier due to months of power struggles – and did not spare criticism of his own party colleagues. At the time, Kurz had long been regarded as the Chancellor’s hope and the only logical choice for the party leadership – with his free choice, the end of the SPÖ-ÖVP coalition was also fixed. From black to turquoise
With Kurz’s election as party chairman, a number of changes were made, which he made a prerequisite for his assumption as chairman: The change in the statutes required of him was given the green light and largely gave Kurz a free hand in essential personnel and strategy decisions – be it when appointing general secretaries and members of government, drawing up electoral lists, be it in terms of content. But not only that – the color change from black to turquoise as well as the marketing as “The New People’s Party” was carried out at that time. Since 2017, the ÖVP logo and also the black color have largely given way to the public. SPÖ criticizes “ego show”. In the run-up to the party congress on Friday there was also criticism from the three opposition parties SPÖ, FPÖ and NEOS. The FPÖ was outraged that the Austrian Armed Forces are pulling Afghans who enjoy asylum status in Austria from the crisis area. Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP) would “bring asylum fraudsters from Afghanistan back to Austria at state expense by air taxi,” said FPÖ General Secretary Michael Schnedlitz. SPÖ and NEOS took aim at Kurz’s announcements regarding CoV. Exactly a year ago, the Chancellor gave a speech on the State of the Union, proclaiming “the light at the end of the tunnel”. SPÖ federal manager Christian Deutsch located a “disastrous corona management”. The Chancellor’s self-portrayal was followed by the “explosion of corona numbers, permanent lockdown, vaccine disaster, flight of responsibility and loss of trust”. Particularly fatal is “the chancellor’s penchant for the ego show, empty announcements and promises that vanish into thin air”.NEOS locates “empty promises”. NEOS came up with a similar assessment: “The light at the end of the tunnel was once again political rubbing-off with zero truth content,” said NEOS deputy club chairman Gerald Loacker. “Because every time the Chancellor declares the pandemic to be over for political reasons, it gets worse afterwards.” People ”, says Loacker. In the run-up to the party congress, however, there was also criticism from Vorarlberg’s regional councilor Johannes Rauch (Greens), who placed a calculus behind the ÖVP’s tough line in terms of admitting particularly vulnerable people from Afghanistan: even if it is customary on the part of the ÖVP, before party congresses or state elections such as “To make noises” now in Upper Austria is “otherworldly” and “to be rejected” with regard to Afghanistan, he said in an interview with Ö1.
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