TIROLER ZEITUNG "Editorial" from May 20, 2023 by Wolfgang Sablatnig "Security policy from the hip"

2023-05-19 20:00:32

Innsbruck (OTS) – Should Austria take part in demining in Ukraine? The fact that important debates were never held under the guise of neutrality is now taking its toll, even more than a year after the attack on Ukraine.

Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) followed up yesterday. He reiterated the statement made by the Turkish Defense Minister, Klaudia Tanner, that Austria would not send any soldiers to clear mines in Ukraine. On the holiday, Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen expressed his incomprehension about Austria’s hesitation on this issue. FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl gave the fighter for neutrality. The NEOS called for serious scrutiny.
With Nehammer the round was complete. Each side set off its scent mark. What was new was the express determination of the Federal President in a day-to-day political issue. This is how day-to-day business in the political
media business. Only the people in the Ukraine have none of this, where war is a terrible part of everyday life.
More than a year after the Russian attack, it would be high time to have a security policy discussion. What does security mean in the face of an aggressor who not only attacks a neighboring country, but also the post-war order and the Western liberal values of freedom and self-determination?
With an unbearably long delay, Nehammer wants to face this debate. How much he opens up to pros and cons remains to be seen. Because he presupposes one central result: namely that neutrality is not violated.
Just to avoid any misunderstanding: neutrality has its merits and its value. In the end it may turn out to be the drug of choice. Anticipating the result right from the start threatens to turn the discussion process into a farce.
With the invasion of Ukraine, threats and challenges have come closer than we could have imagined for decades. The issue of demining in Ukraine is only one point. More will follow.
The question of demining as a humanitarian action should still be easy to answer. But what if the conflict in Ukraine spread to an EU country? We have not yet answered how far the solidarity would then go.
There cannot be a plan for every case. However, there can and must be lines by which the people involved can orient themselves, from the Federal President and the Chancellor down.
Otherwise all they have left is the security political shot in the hip, as in the case of mine clearance. Austria does not gain credibility with this.