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It is the second dispute between the Chancellor and the Vice Chancellor in a few days. The current problem is the duration of the travel restrictions.
Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) is skeptical about the extension of the entry restrictions proposed by Green Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler beyond January 10. He thinks “it makes sense if we maintain a Europe without borders,” Kurz told a news conference in Vienna on Monday.
The situation will be assessed in early January. He took Kogler’s proposal from the media.
Basically, Kurz said that the temporary approach to the Christmas season was “sensible and appropriate” regarding entry restrictions: “As the federal government, we thought we would do it between December 19 and January 10.”
“Tighter than the ÖVP”
At Sonntag-KURIER, Kogler suggested an extension of the travel restrictions beyond January 10, saying it was “frankly tighter than the ÖVP.” Kogler questioned how useful it would be for Austria to reduce the number of infections with measures that are not applied in other countries and, in this context, he mentioned party trips to Bratislava and Prague, but also trips to Switzerland.
Quarantine since mid-December
Tighter entry regulations into Austria are anticipated between mid-December and January 10. People entering Austria from a risk area have to pass a ten-day quarantine, free testing with a PCR test is possible after five days. All countries with a 14-day incidence of Corona positive cases greater than 100 are considered risk areas, currently all neighboring countries of Austria are included. Also in Austria, the number of new infections is well above this value.
Dispute over choice of words
Last week there was a dispute between the Chancellor and the Vice Chancellor over the Chancellor’s choice of words. Kurz had justified the introduction of the quarantine requirement too emphatically when referring to returnees from the Western Balkans. This would put the blame on the chancellor for the high number of infections in migrants from Austria, was the chancellor’s criticism, which in turn put the Greens under pressure.
Kogler later distanced himself from “one-sided communication” and demanded “more sensitivity and respect” from the Chancellor. Kogler also apologized to people with an immigration history if they felt hurt.
