A training offensive announced by the state, KAGes and the Styrian health fund in February is intended to counteract the shortage of doctors in Styria: According to this, the state will pay the tuition fees for 60 students at the private Sigmund Freud University in Vienna, each 150,000 euros; the recipients undertake to work for the KAGes for ten years – more on this in Doctors shortage: country announces training offensive. (24.2.2022).
Med-Uni Graz and the Medical Association criticized the package back then – more on that in Criticism of medical scholarships for private universities in Vienna (February 25, 2022) – the political discourse followed on Tuesday. In the state parliament session, the Green MP Georg Schwarzl criticized a possible circumvention of procurement law and the high costs of 9 million euros, “and then there is the question: Would there have been other options for reserving study places, and lo and behold, they would have existed ! Last year there was an adaptation of the university law, according to which five percent of the study places at a public university can be reserved for the public interest.”
Bogner bouquet: too few places and too expensive
The responsible Health Minister Juliane Bogner-Strauß countered: “Nine million in eight years, for 60 students, 150,000 euros per course. Do you know what it costs to study at a public university, per person? 524,000 euros! And the Sigmund Freud University is accredited by the Ministry of Education just like any public university.”
Of around 270 study places per year, only around 50 would be taken by Styrians. Styria also provides training for other federal states, and a private university in Vienna can also provide training for Styria, says Bogner-Strauß, “simply because the number of places at the public universities has not been and will not be increased sufficiently, you can see that from the numbers and the recommendations of the Federal Audit Office.”
Further negotiations with Med-Uni
This approach can be welcomed, says Marco Triller (FPÖ), but “the goal must be to offer study places at public universities too, where the student commits to work in their home state – in this case Styria – and that over an extended timespan”. Finally, Bogner-Strauß said that negotiations would also be held with MedUni Rector Hellmut Samonigg in order to recruit and retain students in the country in the future.
Other topics: inflation and energy prices
In the afternoon, inflation was the topic: In an urgent question, Werner Murgg (KPÖ) criticized the current electricity price situation as a result of the liberalized electricity market – the current cushioning measures were not enough, a tax cut on energy prices and an anti-inflation summit were needed. “I think these compensation payments for the poorest of the poor are important, but that’s not all. Today, this inflation cuts into large areas of the – I don’t like the word – middle class, wage earners who earn 1,800, 1,900 euros,” says Murgg.
Parliament: Heated discussion about medical training
In the state parliament session on Tuesday morning, one topic in particular caused a stir: the nine million euros for 60 medical scholarships at a private university in Vienna. Health Minister Juliane Bogner-Strauß (ÖVP) defended the model.
Many MPs left the hall again during Murgg’s speech because he had not kept his distance after his trip to the separatist areas in eastern Ukraine. Governor Hermann Schützenhöfer (ÖVP) – to whom the request was addressed as the owner representative of Energie Steiermark – remained in the hall and answered Murgg when asked how the price increase at Energie Steiermark could be justified: “Energy Steiermark’s own production is currently 15 percent, which means that 85 percent has to be bought in. Energie Steiermark is forced to make additional purchases and is therefore dependent on wholesale prices.” The governor referred to investments in renewable energies.
“It’s really tragic”
Murgg brought up the possibility of skimming off profits from energy companies: “Once Karl Nehammer makes a good suggestion and is beaten, that is actually tragic. But where he’s right, he’s right, that should be skimmed off in whatever form – paying out dividends or special taxes on these profits, which can then be used to reduce energy costs.”
Schützenhöfer replied: “With regard to Chancellor Nehammer’s proposal, we are currently examining what is legally possible and what makes economic sense. If there is a concrete proposal on the table, we will assess it. In any case, I do not reject the proposal.” According to Schützenhöfer, the conference of state governors in Bregenz will also deal with the subject of inflation.