Kogler/Maurer: – “Only a third of asylum seekers stay in Austria”

“crown”: Gambling amendment, labor market reform, environmental impact assessments – some things have failed, others have stalled. Many in the ÖVP also say that the coalition is hanging by a thread because it is becoming increasingly difficult for you, Mrs Maurer, to keep the Greens in line. Is it facing the button?

Sigrid Maurer: There have been many projects in the government that have been said they can’t get it done, they can’t master it. One by one they hit the ground. As an example I mention the climate map that has been part of government programs for 15 years. It’s an incredible achievement. We also abolished the cold progression this year and decided to automatically adjust social benefits to inflation. These are huge projects that, by the way, were not even part of the government program.

Werner Kogler: With regard to the automatic adjustment of family and social allowances to inflation, it is striking that most allowances were introduced in the Kreisky era and that valorisation has been under discussion for years but has never been implemented. That sounds so technical, but it means that households and social benefits are automatically adjusted each year to the current rate of inflation – without the need for a new political agreement. The very people who need it most can finally trust that family and social benefits will remain stable and will not fall in value due to inflation. We have now rehabilitated things that have been waiting for a decision for decades. Despite these great crises. This shows a special ability to trade.

If everything is so rosy, why is there so much discontent among the population?
Cones: We see the trend in many countries. Due to the many crises that are piling up and the uncertainty that comes with them, it is also understandable that this loss of confidence affects many institutions. But reversing the trend is an important task. For me, this means working together in politics, but also in other key institutions, the media, business and civil society, putting what unites us above what divides us and ensuring that trust does not diminish, but rather grows.

However, only the parties are chosen by the institutions How does the government intend to increase satisfaction?
Maurice: There is no doubt that the many crises faced by the people of Austria over the past three years have been very exhausting and stressful. I fully understand people’s concerns about inflation. The biggest crisis we still face despite everything is the climate crisis, where we must act now. We are the first generation to feel the effects and the last to do something about it. This is a central pillar in which you must give confidence. May I remind you that in the spring the situation looked very different again in terms of security, storage levels, dependence on gas and Putin, Leonore Gewessler worried.

Your coalition partner is suspected of once again overrunning campaign costs. Almost every month there is a new scandal. Is this the government partner the Greens deserve?
Cones: The new Party Transparency Act is in place to ensure that things like cost overruns in election campaigns are generally kept under control in the future. And that is one of the strictest in Europe. Now the Court of Audit can come and turn over the party coffers. You won’t find that anywhere else. The ÖVP also wanted, must, must have a say in this. In this regard, there is certainly some progress on the key transparency points – even if, of course, there is still much to be done. It is important that there is more clarity now than ever before. This is also because the Greens are in the government and with Alma Zadic (Minister of Justice, note) the independence of the judiciary is protected and strengthened on a daily basis. Scandals keep popping up and I understand everyone who gets angry when there’s another talk in the paper. The things that come out now happened before the Greens came into government. And at that time they were not enlightened. So if the Greens are not in government, more happens and nothing or little is clarified. When the Greens rule, less happens and more is enlightened. The clarification succeeds thanks to the judiciary, the Court of Auditors, the Commission of Inquiry and we are constantly tightening the laws. Since the ÖVP does with. Well done.

Do you want to catch your breath? Ms Maurer, you said that you “cannot take care of the ÖVP every five minutes”.
Maurice: I may have been a little grumpy there. The fact is that we are responsible for the Greens, the ÖVP is responsible for itself.

The asylum policy of the ÖVP is intensifying. Why are you swallowing it like that?
Cones: The question here should not be which saying makes a headline, but what the actual solutions are. Order and humanity in the asylum question. The government program clearly states which rules apply, and that is the European Convention on Human Rights. The situation is different from 2015, although there are large numbers of registrations around 100,000, but only about a third of them are people seeking protection who are actually in Austrian basic care. The others move on.

Don’t you have a problem with the suggestion to erect fences or walls all over Europe?
Cones: Firstly, the president of the sorority has already made a clear statement about this. Secondly, this is an offshoot of the Schengen debate. It is a contribution to the debate of the ÖVP, although what Schallenberg formulates is also legitimate: it shows problems. But it remains important that we work on solutions. I regard the discussion about fences and walls as a manageable contribution to the solution.

Will you urge Austria to vote for Romania and Bulgaria to join Schengen at the next opportunity?
Cones: We have clearly said that we, the Greens, are in favor of enlargement. This was successful in the case of Croatia and discussions are still to be held in the case of Romania and Bulgaria. At European level with the Netherlands on the one hand and with Bulgaria, Romania, the Council Presidency and the Commission on the other. As for the waving and non-registration, which the ÖVP criticizes, it will turn out that the biggest problem is Hungary. On the basis that a correctly completed registration is the criterion for being part of the Schengen area, Hungary should be excluded from it. I haven’t heard that either. In the end, things will go as they always do in Europe: there will be a sensible solution.

Her conclusion: Let’s just let the ÖVP scream, it’s not going to happen at European level anyway. Is that why you are so calm?
Cones: Foreign Minister Schallenberg did it best by highlighting a problem. Now we must work to resolve this and to allow Romania and Bulgaria to join the Schengen area as soon as possible.

And the fact that Karl Nehammer poses friendly in photos with Orban (Prime Minister of Hungary, note) doesn’t bother you either…
Cones: Karl Nehammer’s argument is that you should keep in touch with everyone. We have different approaches to Orban, you have to say that. This is often the case and does not detract from the fact that in most cases we achieve great results together.

Will the Climate Protection Act be revised at some point? The ÖVP, Mr. Schmuckenschlager said he doesn’t need it…
Maurice: We had a long list of problems before those were thick planks to drill and we laid them on the floor. This will ultimately also be the case with the Climate Protection Act. It is a very thick board. A few people have bricked themselves there on the other side, we’ll have to dig them out. There used to be a bit of laughter about the green mission. Renewable energy, is that possible? It is now clear to everyone that what used to be a green mission is now a state affair.

Cones: Energy transition is key to many things, including independence and security. It’s been six months since you had to assume we’d run out of gas in the winter. Now that the storage tanks are full, the energy supply is guaranteed until next summer. In other European countries they have to wait and see how it will be in March.

Herbert Kickl is currently in pole position in the polls. Isn’t something going wrong in the country if the liberals are number one?
Maurice: I think it is clear that there are essentially four parties trying to bring about constructive solutions for the country. And there is one party that rants and stirs fear, that is the PVV. Unfortunately, she often succeeds. However, the counter-recipe can only be to make serious and good policies that support people, put money in their accounts, relieve them and give them confidence for a positive future for their children and grandchildren.

But the coalition partner is focusing on an issue that plays into Kickl’s hands.
Cones: Who knows exactly what makes the difference. It may be that the FPÖ’s artificial roar fuels uncertainty and that it benefits from others getting involved. That would be a joint order from the other four reasonable parliamentary factions to expose it.

When do you think about handing over the leadership of the party or re-entering the election campaign as a top candidate?
Cones: That is a while away, because we assume that the legislature will last. Now I’ve been re-elected for three years at the last federal congress. One motto has proven its worth more than once: we drive into the city and the rest is up to us.
Maurice: Werner Kogler has proven how well he leads the Greens over the past three years with the Greens’ comeback, and will probably continue to do so.

What have you learned in the three years of reign?
Cones: Stay calm.
Maurice: Negotiate.

Was the change of chancellor a blessing?
Maurice: It was just necessity. You will remember that Chancellor Kurz was no longer fit for office, the cooperation with Karl Nehammer is good and I have very good working relations with my counterpart on a very professional level. Sometimes it’s easier, sometimes less easy. But the citizens deserve to have someone as chancellor who is not suspected of corruption.

Despite the election cost overrun for which Karl Nehammer should be responsible?
Maurice: The cause of the election campaign costs currently lies with the Independent Party Transparency Senate and is being addressed there.