TIROLER TAGESZEITUNG "Editorial" edition from Monday, August 14, 2023, by Manfred Mitterwachauer: "Lau prelude to a hot autumn"

2023-08-13 20:00:29

Innsbruck (OTS) – Even VP/SP coalition members grudgingly admit that the new grand state coalition still lacks a wow effect. Implementing the government pact not only takes time, it also takes money. Black and red is encouraged to save.

Black and red worked well in Tyrol in the first ten months of the grand coalition revival. The internal mood barometer is still showing a constant high, minor political skirmishes in the second and third row have not been able to harm the government paint of Governor Anton Mattle (VP) and his deputy Georg Dornauer (SP) to date. At the helm, however, is a coalition of everyday pragmatists. So far, something tangible has been sought on the small rather than on the large scale. This is dangerous. Especially since the coalition started in October 2022 with many big promises to leave a mark on the country.
At the end of the summer break it counts. At the government meeting scheduled for September 12, Mattle and Dornauer are under pressure. The nationwide legal entitlement to childcare needs to be firmly established. No ifs and buts. But with a concrete start date and financing options. So far there is nothing countable on the table. The announcement of another mini-result like at the end of the January retreat, when a meager eight million in photovoltaic subsidies were celebrated as a breakthrough, no longer matters.
Where and for what money will ultimately still be there will crystallize for the coalition members anyway faster than they would like. Although fueled by the corona and inflation crisis, the state government only managed with great difficulty to keep the mountain of debt from growing beyond the billion mark in 2022. Finance officer Mattle therefore announced the debt brake long before the final accounts were announced. In autumn, the coalition faces the mammoth task of preparing a budget for 2024, which must again point in the direction of a certain degree of suitability for grandchildren. Nobody wants to talk about a savings package yet – because a lot will also depend on the federal government. Key word: new financial equalization. And the signs are currently pointing to a storm. Without significant additional income from finance minister Magnus Brunner’s tax purse, Mattle and Dornauer will have to struggle to be able to adequately finance the budgetary transit items alone. Like the health and social sector. The legal entitlement could suddenly move far away. Or the cutbacks rage excessively in other areas – have to.
Mattle and Dornauer know that they finally have to step on the gas in terms of content. Wow effect is not yet recognizable. And they have to manage the feat of doing this with the financial handbrake on. Otherwise it’s just administration, not the promised design.