Norbert Totschnig has long since disappeared from the political arena. He also recently stayed away from the all-important parliamentary debate on the popular demand for animal transport. The Minister of Agriculture, on the other hand, could be seen on the dance floor.
It’s been quiet around him for months. This attribution is actually an understatement – it is quiet around ÖVP Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig. People have been searching for him in vain for weeks on the political scene. On Monday he suddenly appeared on the dance floor of the 100th Jägerball in the Vienna Hofburg at the great Halali. Hardly anyone paid attention to his speech.
36 hours later in parliament. On the program is the referendum “Stop torture of live animal transports” – after all, the referendum gathered 427,000 votes.
Totschnig does not feel responsible for animal welfare
The government bench was orphaned at the debate – Agriculture Minister Totschnig was not present. Animal Welfare Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens), officially responsible for animal welfare agendas, was also absent. In comparison: Minister of Justice Alma Zadic (Greens) listened to the contributions to the debate on the anti-corruption referendum in the Chamber.
But where was the minister during this important debate? Totschnig’s justification when asked by “Krone” was that he was not responsible for this area, but his ministerial colleague Rauch. This is only half the truth.
Plenty of problem areas to work on
The Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality is always at the negotiating table in everything that has to do with animal welfare in combination with agriculture. This was also the case with the abolition of fully slatted floors for pigs in 2039 or the definitive tethering of cattle. In that respect, Totschnig’s motivation is somewhat cheap – after all, the referendum is about animal transport, such as calves or pigs. However. Actually, the ÖVP Minister of Agriculture would have enough construction sites – sorry, in the case of Totschnig it should be called problem areas – to work on.
The minister refers to his successes
Because the farmers are no longer loyal to the ÖVP in the voting booth. In Lower Austria – especially in the Waldviertel – the results of the state elections were a debacle. It rained minus 15 to 20 percent for the ÖVP. Minister Totschnig should immediately start the return campaign of his clients. The minister does not want to accept the accusation that he does not achieve anything for the farmers, he tells the “Krone”.
- He cites these as his greatest achievements Covering the increased costs for energy, animal feed and fertilizers. For this, the Austrian farmers receive an additional financing of 110 million euros. In total round 110,000 farms supported become.
- Agriculture received 120 million euro electricity cost subsidy.
- Farmers are of the CO2 tax on diesel liberated.
Totschnig remains an unfamiliar face – probably many farmers would not recognize him either.
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.
