Is there a waiting period? – Social Benefits: The Chancellor’s delicate mission

First a speech about the future, then another wave of posters – but despite this campaign, no one in the ÖVP wants to know about a primary campaign. It should only be a spring campaign with Chancellor Karl Nehammer. At the same time, Nehammer wants to have the announced future plan for 2030 drawn up.

Difficult points in Nehammer’s future plan
This plan contains sensitive points. Last Friday, Nehammer discussed with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen how social benefits could be limited. Only those who have been in the country for five years should receive the full amount of aid. Unemployment benefits or family benefits should not be affected. A similar measure in Lower Austria – namely a five-year waiting period for the minimum income – was overturned by the Constitutional Court in 2018.

Why would Nehammer’s model succeed? The Chancellor received expertise from EU legal expert Walter Obwexer: “It is possible under certain conditions.”

“A constitutional law if necessary”
First condition: the law must apply to everyone, including Austrian citizens who have lived abroad in recent years. Second condition: “EU law requires that a decent life is always guaranteed.” That’s why Nehammer plans to pay only half of Social Security benefits for the first five years, and then the full benefit after that. Even if these criteria are met, it is uncertain whether the law will hold up in the Constitutional Court. “Then a political decision is needed and, if necessary, a constitutional law,” said Nehammer. However, he needs a two-thirds majority in parliament to do so.