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Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz would seek the proven recipe, as tough measures evocative of the first wave of the epidemic will take effect next week. Almost all events are banned by the government, but theaters, museums, swimming pools, and gyms are also closed. Restaurants can only accept deliveries and hotels cannot accept guests. They also restrict visits to hospitals, social institutions, and seniors and college students transitioning to digital education. There will also be a curfew between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., and Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig said in a weekend interview that the Christmas market will open in December at the latest.
The Austrian government action may also be interesting for us because Viktor Orbán referred to Austria in the spring as a laboratory for the management of epidemics in Hungary. In other words, if Chancellor Kurz’s decisions are effective, perhaps the Hungarian government will decide on similar steps. This would be supported by statistics, as the two countries are in an equally difficult position to combat the virus. In Austria, the coronavirus has about 110,000 infected and 1,130 deaths, and in Hungary the number of registered patients is close to 80,000, while 1,819 lost their lives in the epidemic.
In the last two months, the number of infections has increased by almost five in Austria and almost twelve in Hungary.
Unconstitutional, unconstitutional, unconstitutional
If the Hungarian government continues to look at our western neighbor as a laboratory, this time the Austrian Constitutional Court (VfGH) is also worth paying attention to. In its decision on Friday, the Vienna body also declared unconstitutional several laws that establish epidemiological restrictions during the first wave.
In their eight-point decision they objected, among others, to restricting access to restaurants and other entertainment venues, but also to the extent that the use of a mask is mandatory in offices.
They also repealed current legislation, which required a minimum distance of one meter between tables in restaurants.
The Constitutional Court’s decision will not go into effect until December 31, which is certainly related to the fact that Sebastian Kurz also announced on Saturday that the tightening that will take effect on Tuesday is expected to be relaxed in December. However, as early as July, the VfGH asked the government to align the restrictive measures with constitutional rights.
Although the wording of the restrictions that take effect on Tuesday has been much more careful, experts commenting to the Austrian press say that many laws remain problematic. Lawyers telling GMX magazine drew attention to night curfew restrictions, as there are so many exceptions that the regulation becomes unenforceable in practice. Other measures, on the other hand, would indirectly regulate the private sector, which according to experts could already violate fundamental rights.
Green riots
Not only the Constitutional Court but also the coalition partner is causing the Chancellor more and more headaches. In January this year, the coalition government of the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) and the Greens was formed, with Rudolf Anschober at the head of the Ministry of Health. While the ÖVP Kurz and the Anschober Green Party always praise the oiled cooperation, the second wave makes the tension within the coalition more spectacular. An analysis of this written by Der Standard over the weekend, according to a former ÖVP communications adviser, was caused by a veritable “public relations disaster” caused by the political chess game around the second wave. Gerhard W. Loub told the Vienna newspaper that he said Kurz wanted to announce the curfew restrictions as early as Thursday, but at the last minute, Anschober made the announcement.
I feel the chancellor seemed unsure
– said the Austrian communication expert. He added that Kurz was notoriously trying to pressure his health minister, but there were signs that the initiative had bounced off Anschober, who had grown stronger during the epidemic.
(Cover image: Austrian government protesters against the coronavirus epidemic in front of the Hofburg Palace in Vienna on October 31, 2020. Photo: Joe Klamar / AFP)
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