Rendi-Wagner speaking: – “Increase pensions and minimum income!”

„krone“: Mrs. Dr. Rendi-Wagner, you gave a speech to the Chancellor last Sunday, but you are still in your old office. And now?
Pamela Rendi Wagner: And now? That’s what I think of when I look across the country. People’s lives are becoming increasingly difficult, partly due to the highest price increases in decades. Why? Because this federal government is becoming more and more incapable of acting. So it was just the right time for this speech.

In this speech, you took the stage with five former SPÖ chancellors and stated: “We condemn what the governments have done to our country over the past five years.” Five years ago today, Christian Kern was Chancellor of the SPÖ. What do you think he did wrong?
You are well aware that we had elections in 2017 and then the ÖVP governments. Since then, however, there have been many government reshuffles, almost non-stop. We now have the third chancellor and the third minister of health. This is anything but stability.

Christian Kern’s close relationship with Vladimir Putin and his position on Russia’s state railways, which he gave up only after the first missiles landed, were criticized by many. Are you okay with former SPÖ politicians being or were on a despot’s payroll?
Kern drew the consequences immediately after the Russian invasion, unlike Schüssel. In essence, however, I judge politicians by their actions during their active time and less by their activities as private individuals.

That is, he could also have become an arms dealer, and you wouldn’t mind?
Well, anyone dealing in guns would be harassing me, be it Christian Kern or anyone else.

Ready for the first Dokozil question?
(laughs) All the time.

Did the governor of Burgenland congratulate you after the speech? Those flowers on the table there aren’t his, are they?
No, the flowers are not his. And I wasn’t expecting congratulations either.

Your party’s polls are rising again. Because you are so good or because the others are so bad?
The fact is that for months now we have been steadily gaining the public’s trust because people simply feel that their problems and concerns are being dealt with fairly.

Where you don’t gain much is in the confidence index. You are slightly better than Education Minister Martin Polaschek, who was asked to resign by the union last week. Do Chancellor Values ​​Look Like This?
We look at the Chancellor’s values ​​when I am Chancellor.

Would the SPÖ mayor of Vienna, Michael Ludwig, also be a good chancellor?
I think there are many personalities in our party who have good qualities. But I am now the leader of this party and I will also be the main candidate.

Is Hans Peter Doskozil one of these many personalities?
I don’t think that question comes up because he never put himself in the game.

Okay, thought experiment, let’s assume you’re Chancellor of Austria. What would you implement first?
The first thing I would do is combat this acute price hike and introduce a reduction in VAT on fuel, electricity and gas. I don’t want people in a country like Austria to have to storm the social markets.

But why is the SPÖ no longer doing what it can? In red Vienna, the rates for water, sewage and waste were increased on 1 January. Probably next year too. The new parking sticker will flush 54 million euros of extra income into the city treasury. Vienna is investigating an increase in district heating prices. And Wien Energie, part of Stadtwerke, is still proud of the record profit, while the Viennese are in financial trouble. There’s plenty of potential, right?
In any global crisis, the federal government cannot sit back and say that the states have a responsibility to take action. What is needed now, as the German federal government has shown, is a nationwide package that will help people immediately. And one thing is clear to retirees, they have a pension adjustment of 1.8 percent, but the actual inflation is six percent. That means an immediate increase in pensions in line with actual inflation, ie to six percent.

Does the same also apply to the minimum income?
I think it is necessary to give people enough money to live on. The minimum income should also be adjusted at this level, otherwise it makes no sense.

Let’s go to the topic of Corona. What Were the Federal Government’s Three Biggest Mistakes?
That the same mistakes of the first years are now being repeated in the third Corona year. That you are not taking precautions to prepare for a fall wave. That the corona pandemic has been declared over too soon. He has failed to achieve a high vaccination coverage. That was four.

But you too have made blatant misjudgments. At the beginning of the pandemic, you said in an interview: “Wearing masks makes no sense in prevention. Masks do not belong in everyday life, because they can even increase the infection rate.” Last year you reprimanded Hans Peter Doskozil for “opening clearly too early”, which turned out not to be wrong at the time. Isn’t it true that you also make mistakes, but they don’t stand out so much in the opposition?
As for the masks, you learn more yourself, the science learns more, the experts learn more. And it is crucial that politicians learn. But I don’t see this learning effect in the federal government.

Let’s go back to Chancellor Rendi-Wagner: How would you prepare the country for the Corona fall today?
We need to create a vaccination coverage by the fall that gives us a certain level of protection among the population. We are still a long way from that. Second, protective measures that have become habitual, such as masks, must also be maintained in the summer months. And an established testing system is hugely important.

So you as chancellor would now ratify mandatory vaccination?
The Vaccination Commission has given politicians the opportunity to decide whether the completely unvaccinated population should be compulsorily vaccinated. I would have followed that recommendation. It’s too late in the fall.

Last question. According to Marketagent’s humor report, 50 percent of Austrians would like more humor. Cheer up the Austrians. Tell us your favorite joke.
This federal government lasts until 2024.