The price increase is hard for many people – now Social Affairs Minister Johannes Rauch has promised on social media to take a closer look at the price increase. “I am not the only one who wonders how price increases of 50 percent or more can be explained,” said the Greens politician.
Several overlapping and intensifying crises have put more and more people at risk of falling into poverty, the minister said in ORF “ZiB 2” on Thursday evening. Think of the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis and of course inflation. “The welfare state in Austria, which has been fought for decades, prevents worse things from happening,” Rauch is convinced – otherwise the “risk of poverty would be three times as high”.
Rauch now wants to take action against high prices in the supermarket. As consumer protection minister, he will now address major retail chains “to get clarity on whether these price increases are really justified or whether action is needed,” Rauch said.
Industry association: Industry acts “inflation dampening”
However, one should not expect too much from these talks: The trade association only announced on Thursday that the retail sector has been struggling with a sharp drop in turnover since the beginning of the year. These numbers would show that “dealers are not enriching themselves with the inflationary crisis,” said Rainer Will, general manager of the Retail Association. The industry is even acting “inflation dampening”.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
