In the ORF “press hour” on Sunday, she criticized the ÖVP for being a brake on many important areas and defended the Greens’ extensive rejection of the EU migration pact. She named the exit from fossil energy, mobility transition and climate change adaptation while maintaining social justice as her priorities.
- Climate protection measures:
Schilling did not want to be tied down to further election goals beyond 500,000 votes. In the 2019 EU elections, the Greens won 532,193 votes, which meant a 14.1 percent share of the vote. Initially, the local Greens had two mandates, and after the number of seats allocated to Austria was increased from 18 to 19, they then had three. The Greens recently stated that their goal was to maintain this number.
- Climate activists criticized:
Schilling defended her change of role because she had been taking to the streets for her concerns for years and now she wanted to represent them in parliament. She will not give up her ideals, but at the same time she will also fight for compromises, “and compromises always hurt,” she said in response to criticism from climate activists. Once again she criticized “Fridays For Future” founder Greta Thunberg and her statements about Israel and Palestine. It is important: “The climate crisis will not be reduced if the climate movement is weakened.”
When asked about her youth and her faux pas to ORF satirist Peter Klien, in which she placed Norway in the EU on the day of her freestyle for the Greens, Schilling said: “I can’t promise it, but it may be that it’s not mine will have been the last mistake.” She has been immersed in EU issues for some time and has spent the last few months speaking to experts and taking part in briefings.
- Unpleasant interview with Peter Klien:
Regarding allegations of a lack of assertiveness by the Greens in Austria’s federal government, Schilling referred to the actions of the major coalition partner. It is the ÖVP that “has slowed down in many areas”. And the fact that it is so difficult for Austria to get out of its dependence on Russian natural gas is due to the “gag agreements” concluded under Sebastian Kurz as Chancellor.
She stated that an important goal was that environmentally friendly mobility had to become cheaper. The Greens want to achieve this, among other things, through low-cost rail tariffs for connections between the Union’s capitals. A maximum of ten cents per kilometer should be charged. Schilling said she last flew five or six years ago and intends to travel by train as much as possible as an EU representative.
The top candidate defended the fact that the Greens voted against the majority of the points in the EU Asylum and Migration Pact. Accommodating people in large camps at the Union’s external borders will not be the solution. There is also nothing in the pact about people drowning in the Mediterranean. What is needed is an orderly distribution mechanism, fast, fair procedures, humanity and the possibility of orderly migration.
Schilling remained vague on the question of whether climate refugees should have the right to asylum. In any case, we have to deal with the issue and combat the climate crisis sustainably so that people are not forced to leave their homes. Because: “If islands sink, where should the people go?”
