[ad_1]
The opposition may see little positive in the budget debate.
Vienna On the day of the budget speech, the finance minister is the star. The next day, when the budget debate traditionally takes place, he’s a dumb listener. With a stoic expression, insofar as this can be seen behind the protection of the mouth and nose, Gernot Blümel sits on the government bench in the National Council on Thursday and supports the statements of the deputies: The praise of his fellow party members for a budget that would do justice to the crisis. , the almost euphoric comments from the Green Coalition partner on investments in climate protection and criticism from the opposition. He only flipped through a news magazine for a moment, of all things, when Neos MP Karin Doppelbauer accused him of “apathy.”
It is not surprising that the ruling parties like their own budget and that the opposition condemns it. This is part of the annual ritual of the budget debate. This time around, the external circumstances are more unusual: in the midst of the crown pandemic, the ÖVP, of all people, which has carried the need for a balanced budget as a mantra for decades, decides on a budget with the largest deficit than never existed. ÖVP club coach August Wöginger defends the approach: now it’s about countering the crisis and keeping the business cycle intact. However, the coalition is aware that the money will have to be paid back once.
No fundamental criticism of the deficit spending policy of that day is heard. Only the leader of the Neos party, Beate Meinl-Reisinger, tried to take the countermeasures gently: “Whatever it takes” was the wrong slogan in the crisis. Correctly, one should have said, “It costs what it takes.”
“Broken promises”
Otherwise, however, opposition parties agree that very little is being done. The current budget is not enough to counteract the crisis. SPÖ leader Pamela Rendi-Wagner sees the budget as a “manifesto of broken promises.” A foresight labor market policy is needed, press conferences and announcements are not enough. AMS’s per capita budget is even lower than in 2017, which was not a crisis year. In any case, a historically large economic stimulus package was needed. A budget should save jobs and businesses and strengthen small and medium income. The head of his club, Jörg Leichtfried, puts it somewhat more drastically: “This is a self-surrender of the republic in the greatest labor crisis.” Very little is being done to maintain jobs, but at the same time there are speculators: the government has not prevented companies from receiving state aid, it can distribute dividends and bonuses at the same time. Overall, the fairy tale that Austria weathered the crisis well has to be dispelled: Germany has much better numbers in terms of economic growth and employment. “But they also have a government that works seriously.”
As usual, FPÖ club boss Herbert Kickl gets down to business. In the direction of the deputies of the ÖVP, he mocks that now they are also “dangerous” because they do not wear mouth and nose protection in plenary session. And it accuses the government of endangering jobs and lists companies that are downsizing.
Instead of attracting settlements, the policy of location drives away: “They go to Turkey or Poland.” The current budget is also impressed, “that this downward trend, this crash course will continue in 2021.” On the other hand, no one in the ÖVP wants to be blamed for this: “a collection of disclaimers, with V as in the Popular Party.” Kickl only finds three interesting numbers in the budget: 12: This is the weight of the budget documents. 25: The Finance Minister read so many pages “reluctantly.” Y 31: Those are the minutes you thought the budget was worth talking about.
Invest in the future?
The director of the Neos club, Beate Meinl-Reisinger, considers that the budget has a more binding tone, but no less critical: future investments and the value for real tax reform would be lacking. What the government has presented is a crisis budget, “but nothing beyond that.”
(“Die Presse”, print edition, October 16, 2020)
