2023-12-23 04:23:52
The Green Club leader Sigrid Maurer hopes that the Greens will be “as strong as possible” in the EU elections and maintain their number of representatives: “Three mandates are of course the goal,” she said in the APA interview. The top candidate will be decided at the federal congress in February. Climate activist Lena Schilling was “an impressive person,” said Maurer, but added: “There are other people too.” She sees the ÖVP and SPÖ “in a partially deplorable state”.
It is not yet known who will lead the Greens in the EU elections next June after several prominent rejections from within their own ranks. According to APA information, climate activist Schilling is the favorite. Maurer referred to the Federal Congress of the Greens on February 24th. “There are many different options. And there is no doubt that Lena Schilling is an impressive person. There are other people too,” said the club chairwoman.
The EU election will be about “preventing a slide to the right” not only in Austria, but also in other countries. The Greens want to become “as strong as possible”. In 2019, the Greens achieved a slight minus of 14.1 percent. “We now have three mandates, and three mandates are of course the goal.”
Maurer once again confirmed that the National Council election should take place in the fall and not be brought forward: “We are elected for five years and the citizens rightly expect us to work. We are very committed to doing that, we have a very “We’ve had a successful year,” said Maurer. “We intend to continue this way, also next year. And (ÖVP club boss) August Wöginger and I are in complete agreement that we will vote in September next year.” Maurer recalled that turquoise-green had brought many things forward “despite all prophecies of doom”, for example the “eco-social tax reform”, the abolition of cold progression, the climate ticket and measures against corruption.
The Greens recently got a basket from their coalition partners with their demand to be able to retroactively convert variable-interest real estate loans into fixed-interest ones. “In Austria we have the highest proportion of variable loans compared to the rest of Europe and that cannot be explained unless the banks have not given good advice – and there is a lot of evidence for that,” Maurer sees as a “consumer protection issue”. The interest burden is “crushing”, the banks have also made “fat profits, not least because of this advisory situation, and they should now take responsibility for this,” demands Maurer. “To be honest, I think it’s cynical if you say: It’s your own bad luck, you just misjudged the risk and now you have to accept the consequences in a situation where the banks gave you wrong advice.”
Maurer rejected the fact that this would reward those who speculated on low interest rates with a variable loan interest rate: “It’s not about speculation, it’s not a question of roulette or casino,” but of “families who have the dream of “Have fulfilled your own home”. Nobody would be better off. WIFO boss Gabriel Felbermayr noted, among other things, that anyone who finances their own home is not in need of help. The Greens in the government paid great attention to ensuring that those with low incomes in particular were supported, “but we also have a responsibility for the middle class,” Maurer countered.
Maurer also does not agree with the ÖVP when it comes to the wishes to strengthen the rights of the accused. Maurer rejected the coalition partner’s idea of creating monitoring options for messenger services with the reform of cell phone security ordered by the Constitutional Court. These are “surveillance fantasies”. “We definitely won’t have a federal Trojan.” And there will also be no ban on quoting from files with us; “we are clearly on the side of the journalists.”
The club chairwoman is not really happy with the two upcoming U-committees – one from Red and Blue against the People’s Party and a “return coach committee from the ÖVP”, as Maurer calls it. “Our impression is that three parties are preparing a big mud fight.” Maurer assured that the Greens would of course carry out “serious educational work”. The formation of these committees and the focus are “albeit strange”.
In general, Maurer sees the SPÖ and ÖVP “in a partially deplorable state” – “they were state-supporting parties, and from my perspective they are currently not.” Both had “lost their compass a bit”. The ÖVP is “battered by the many investigations and affairs”, while the SPÖ is “unclear” where it is going. Maurer believes that it would actually be “a shared responsibility” to prevent FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl from becoming chancellor, because he would endanger democracy. “The FPÖ is indeed mobilizing people and, according to the polls, is obviously managing to gain support. But the FPÖ has not yet brought a single solution. And it is quite astonishing that Herbert Kickl is railing so against the political establishment where he is but was himself exclusively part of the political establishment, his entire life,” said Maurer. “That’s very hypocritical.”
The Greens would like to continue to govern after the National Council election. Maurer left it open which coalition he would prefer to be in. “I fundamentally believe that the challenges are different in every constellation, but they always exist. So I don’t think that governing will necessarily be easier if you work with a partner who is closer to you in terms of content.” If the Greens end up in the opposition, Maurer still wants to stay in politics: “I will run in this election and of course I will also work in the National Council.” In the past, people have been able to change things from the opposition position, “and that can be just as much fun.” Maurer: “The goal is of course to participate in the government.”
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