Forty years of independence were celebrated, after more than five years UniCredit stopped all procedures. All this made 2024 a “very positive year” for Oberbank, Franz Gasselsberger emphasizes. At the financial institution’s business gala in Linz, the Managing Director appealed to personal responsibility, trust and courageous politicians.
“2025 will not be an easy year. We are in the longest recession since World War II. The population has clearly lost confidence and prefers to save money. The bankruptcy of KTM has increased the uncertainty even further” – with these words Franz Gasselsberger described the situation on Wednesday evening at the Oberbank business gala, which worries not only the head of the banking institution operating from Linz.
“We need a strong belief in the future and in ourselves. Without a good atmosphere you don’t invest,” says Gasselsberger. At the same time, the bank director spoke of a dramatic loss of competitiveness: “We have become dependent on everything – on China, on the import of energy and raw materials, on unsafe transport routes and on America.”
Calling for a Europe-first policy, the 65-year-old quotes the words of John F. Kennedy: “You should not ask what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” because of that? “You can’t ask the state for support for everything. We must learn to take personal responsibility again.”
There is also a need for moderate collective bargaining and for responsible consumers “to consider whether they really want to order everything easily online in China.”
In view of the new constellation in government negotiations, he says: “We need courageous politicians who resist the temptation to earn cheap political capital on complex issues. In order to restore confidence in politics, the new federal government now mainly needs credibility.”
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.
