Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) does not want to hear about a row with the Greens, but insists he is against a climate doomsday scenario. Only three days after his extensive speech, he felt compelled to make an initial tightening. His ideas about climate and social policy in particular had shocked the greens.
Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler and Social Affairs Minister Johannes Rauch made the first critical statements only 24 hours after the chancellor’s appearance. Not surprising – the Greens reject both the reduction of social benefits for people from third countries who have lived in Austria for less than five years and the refusal to ban the internal combustion engine in the EU in the future.
Nehammer tried to calm down. Yesterday he called Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler. Everything is fine was Nehammer’s message. Together, projects were defined that they wanted to carry out: for example, the earmarking of housing subsidies, easier recognition of training courses in healthcare, digitization and media competence issues in education, the free master’s exam for craftsman and the expansion of childcare or a new safety doctrine.
Don’t overestimate the differences
The ÖVP leader is persistent in his stance against “doomsday scenarios” in the climate issue. He also interprets the self-chosen attribution of the “last generation” of the climate stickers as a “certain form of arrogance”.
The ÖVP chancellor stressed that he wanted to serve the Greens for the full five years: “That was always my goal”. It is clear that there are differences of opinion: “We are not a single party, we are deeply different parties”. Kogler also advocates matters such as wealth tax, which are a red flag for the ÖVP. One should not “overestimate” it.
counter the “apocalypse” of the climate activists
“In terms of content, the goal of climate protection doesn’t set us apart,” just the way to get there, Nehammer said. For him, the solution lies in innovation and progress. In his large-scale speech, Nehammer demanded that the climate activists’ “apocalypse of doom” be countered, and he also spoke out against “banning” the internal combustion engine. On Monday he defended himself against criticism of these statements: It would be a “mistake” to put the combustion engine aside, because then you would give up a “knowledge advantage” and enter into new dependencies. Dependence on China as a producer of solar panels is already a major problem.
Nehammer was inspired by the book “Apocalypse, Never!” by Michael Shellenberger, who advocates for nuclear energy. The author just said that the “doomsday” of the “last generation” “has not been scientifically proven,” Nehammer explained when asked. Nehammer believes that hopelessness has never done the world any good. “You won’t take this scientific finding that billions of people are dying seriously,” he affirmed. “I’m not interested in putting things into perspective”, but “my approach is to look ahead”.
Austria still against nuclear power
The chancellor did not want his enthusiasm for the book to be taken as a plea to support nuclear power in this country: Austria’s position is clear, “but it is not a majority opinion in the world”. Austria has always spoken out against nuclear power, “but we can do it more easily than other countries,” Nehammer said. “We have to partly take off our self-centered glasses of seeing world events and also think through the eyes of other continents.”
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.
