When the health minister was still called Wolfgang Mückstein, he spent so long at the diving station that the question of what the minister actually did for a living quickly spread. Martin Polaschek, responsible for the education department since the beginning of December 2021, has now inherited the demand.
After the involuntary departure of Heinz Faßmann, there is a clear motto in the cabinet: don’t make waves and don’t say too much. Or, as one ministry insider puts it, “Go ahead and do nothing.” Faßmann sometimes decided beyond his competence that exactly the opposite is happening, it is said.
Many projects are now standing still
Exactly this is also reported from the federal states: the transition from Faßmann to Polaschek was very noticeable. The new minister focuses on dialogue, but nothing comes out, many projects, such as the reform of the curriculum, are on hold. “Everything is going much slower and slower”, can be heard.
Union rehearses resistance
Criticism and resentment are still often whispered behind closed doors and mainly anonymously, but there is already open opposition to the Minister of Education. The independent teachers’ union is demanding Polaschek’s resignation, students and teachers have already taken to the streets, administrators have written an open letter asking for help and complaining that they are becoming increasingly busy with administrative work that assistants can also do.
“We don’t even get the minister”
The criticism is getting louder, “everyone is starting to wonder,” ministry officials report. Martin Polaschek will be shielded by the new chief of staff, who is very well connected in the ÖVP. The minister has not yet met his own people, say employees at Minoritenplatz in Vienna. And: “We don’t even notice the pastor, we work in the fog.” Many are now wondering how long the immersion can go well.
Source: Krone
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