In krone.tv’s summer conversation with Katia Wagner, the pink frontwoman Beate Meinl-Reisinger reaffirms her controversial statement that the FPÖ would commit “treason” to the people. In fact, according to her, the FPÖ are “useful idiots” who would be “put in front of the cart” by Putin…
The NEOS boss has already been criticized for her statement about the “betrayal of the people” by the FPÖ. Still, she stands by her findings about the PVV and its Russia policy: “I know it’s tough. But I find it disgraceful and deeply anti-patriotic that the FPÖ is playing Putin’s game,” she clarified.
Women are quickly labeled as “handy” or “screaming”
She knows she’s offending, but you’ve got to “hold up a mirror” to this party. As a woman, she often had to swallow attributions such as ‘handy’, ‘screaming’ or ‘aggressive’ for her clear words. But Meinl-Reisinger is aware: “You can never please everyone.” NEOS still places them “reliably in the middle”.
Cooperation with the ÖVP under Nehammer has “changed a lot”
The pink party leader surprisingly finds praise for the ÖVP. Under Karl Nehammer, the collaboration had “changed a lot” and the chancellor “tried much harder” to seek dialogue with the opposition. The fact that this was not possible under his predecessor, Sebastian Kurz, is something that “annoyed her a lot” because Kurz was “irritating” to Parliament. However, constructive discussions are still not possible, certainly not with one party: the FPÖ.
Meinl-Reisinger: “The sanctions work!”
When asked about the sanctions policy, Beate Meinl-Reisinger is clear: “The sanctions work!”. They would cause “tremendous damage” to the Russian economy and increase the pressure for negotiations to take place. She does not think a next visit from Chancellor Karl Nehammer to Vladimir Putin is necessary, the federal government should rather ensure that Germany’s energy supply is assured “if Putin turns off the gas”.
“Austrians are smarter than many politicians”
When it comes to inflation, the NEOS boss thinks the Austrians are “much smarter than some politicians”. After all, the population would save energy themselves. She sees the price ceiling demanded by other parties as reaching the ‘populist box’, because that no longer encourages anyone to save. Meinl-Reisinger also doesn’t like the federal government’s anti-inflation measures: “I hate this alms in the form of vouchers!”. Instead, one must ensure that people can afford inflation.
Also criticized their own social spokesperson
But she also does not shy away from criticizing her own party colleagues. She doesn’t like Gerald Loacker’s statement that “nobody wants to work anymore” because of the social benefits: “It’s snotty and there’s something cynical about it”. In essence, however, it is true, because with a full-time salary you can hardly build anything in Austria. “A lot of people say, ‘Well, then I’m not even going to work full-time,'” she says.
“If there were new elections, I would win a lot”
Beate Meinl-Reisinger would at least be open to new elections. “I would win a lot and come out stronger,” she predicts. Would you rather have a coalition with the SPÖ and the Greens than with the ÖVP? “My favorite variant would be that both are possible and I can strongly implement my requirements,” she says with a smile.
On krone.tv you can watch krone.tv’s summer talks every Wednesday at 8:15 pm – find out how to get us on TV here!
In the program of the same name, Katia Wagner discusses socio-political issues that affect Austria with guests from politics and society every Wednesday.
Source: Krone
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