At the beginning of the year, the leaders of the Social Democrats seemed to be busy and presented a “program of action”. The positions on inflation, education, health and care were established during a Presidency retreat in Klagenfurt. Migration was also a focus – a subject that repeatedly led to discussions within the party. “We must reduce irregular migration, we must prevent it,” party leader Pamela Rendi-Wagner demanded at a press conference. She wants to form alliances in Europe.
Under the motto “Social Policy for Austria”, the Executive Committee discussed key challenges and tasks on Wednesday and Thursday. At the invitation of SPÖ leader Pamela Rendi-Wagner, migration expert Gerald Knaus, author and chair of the think tank “European Stability Initiative – ESI”, gave a presentation on migration and flight in Europe.
“Fact politics instead of show politics” in the field of asylum
With “fact politics instead of show politics”, the SPÖ wants to score accordingly in the field of asylum and migration. Alliances in Europe are needed for this, says Rendi-Wagner, who can imagine a ‘Bodensee coalition’ with Germany and Switzerland on this matter. Asylum procedures under the Geneva Refugee Convention outside the European Union are therefore the “only reasonable solution”. The SPÖ also proposes a common European asylum system and the conclusion of repatriation agreements.
Burgenland’s controversial provincial governor, Hans Peter Doskozil, who had repeatedly criticized the SPÖ’s lack of line on the subject of migration, did not take part in the exam. At his own request, he is no longer a member of the Executive Committee since 2021.
Doskozil not on exam
Although he was absent, Doskozi would not comment on the meeting in Klagenfurt. The governor’s office only said on Thursday at the request of APA that there were no comments on the presidium’s retreat. In any case, the SPÖ denied that Doskozil represented a more restrictive asylum policy. Rendi-Wagner again referred to the position paper on this subject that he and the Carinthian governor Peter Kaiser had drawn up. And during the exam, the subject was also treated intensively, it was said.
Migration and asylum, however, is only one of the five issues addressed by the SPÖ in its “Programme of Action”. These are “things that people have been left alone with in recent months,” Rendi-Wagner stressed at the closing press conference. For example, record inflation, which must be combated with, among other things, the suspension of VAT on basic foodstuffs, the freezing of rental inflation and the establishment of an “anti-inflation commission” with official control functions.
Free childcare is also mandatory at the federal level
The demands in terms of education were presented by the host Kaiser – who presented his country as a role model in this area. Because, as is currently being attempted in Carinthia, a legal right to daily, free childcare from the first year of life should also be made possible in the federal government. For example, 100,000 additional childcare places are to be created throughout Austria. In addition, there will be 180,000 extra day school places. The SPÖ wants to combat staff shortages among educators by making jobs more attractive, for example by investing in training centres.
Recognize nursing as hard work
The SPÖ also wants to counteract the shortage of doctors and nurses, namely with more training places, as Vienna mayor Michael Ludwig said. The nursing profession should also be recognized as hard work. But the supply of medicines must also be secured, for example by bringing production back to Europe. Last but not least, the “Action Program” is also dedicated to the energy transition, which should be promoted with a fund of 20 billion euros and investments in training and research.
When asked about the performance of the SPÖ in the upcoming state elections in Carinthia on March 5, Rendi-Wagner did not want to comment specifically, but assumes a good result. “At least it should be a four,” said Kaiser, who was recently expected to lose.
Criticism of the social democrats’ asylum proposal has already come from the People’s Party. “SPÖ’s zigzag course makes them unpredictable. Cross-party cooperation becomes particularly difficult when the negotiating partner is constantly sending diametrically opposed signals. The SPÖ is simply unpredictable and unreliable. Especially when it comes to such an important issue as migration, the line changes every minute,” ÖVP Secretary General Christian Stocker said via broadcast.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
