After the Supreme Court overturned the social assistance law, Caritas president Michael Landau called for swift action and called it a “disgrace to a country like Austria”.
In the interview with “Krone”, the dismay of the priest and Caritas president is striking: “Social assistance must enable a life without poverty! It is about the plight and reality of those affected – not about ideologies.”
‘Abolition of minimum income was a mistake’
As reported, the Constitutional Court recently overturned the law, once passed under turquoise blue, regarding pure benefits in kind. “The abolition of the minimum income was a mistake that is now avenging itself in the crisis,” says Michael Landau. He now calls for swift action on the “social assistance construction site” and appeals to politicians: “One repair is not enough, there must be a reform!”
Away from maximum amounts to minimum standards that apply nationally. For families and children in particular, “the proportion of the housing costs must be based on the actual housing need”.
Another matter close to the heart of the Caritas president is a substantial increase in minimum pensions, i.e. the standard rate of the compensatory allowance: “It cannot be the case that minimum pensioners after a busy life have to queue for food aid. That’s a pity for a country like Austria!”
Cardinal Schönborn worried about the “loss of the center”
However, on Sunday in the ORF “press hour”, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn (“I’m an old 68er”) supported the concerns of the climate activists and, in view of black and blue in Lower Austria, is concerned about a “loss of the middle”.
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.
