Once again, a video from Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) is causing a stir. As more and more people struggle to continue their daily lives despite rising prices, his words seem almost mocking: In view of the political debate that many children would no longer get a hot meal, he refers to the “hamburger at McDonald’s” .
The fact that Nehammer does not always find the most diplomatic choice of words has been known at least since the price hike, when he said last year that in the end only “alcohol or psychotropic drugs” would be left if the “enemy” was not recognized.
Chancellor speaks freely about the liver
A leaked video of an official event in Salzburg is now adding more grist to the mill of his critics. It shows the chancellor making a detailed statement in a liver-free pub about the accusation that the government is not doing enough to combat the country’s still rampant inflation – and once again promoting the People’s Party line.
Those affected must “just work more”
“If you accuse me: poverty in Austria is increasing and people have less and less money. Why is the part-time quota not increased?” Nehammer complains. “Why is it not increasing, even for women who do not have caring responsibilities?” he was already asked.
He always replied that those affected simply have to work more, “because then I need more money.” But that does not happen, as the part-time quota would demonstrate.
The cheapest meal is at McDonald’s‘S”
As if that weren’t enough, he also complains about the debate on child poverty, which the SPÖ in particular is currently pushing forward. What bothers him about the accusation that more and more children in Austria are no longer getting a hot meal is that he “has not seen any wave of outrage – not even in the letters to the editor.” “What about the parents? What do you mean a child doesn’t get a hot meal?”
When a listener interjects that a minced meat sandwich is the cheapest hot meal, the Chancellor contradicts this with a casual statement. It’s more like “a hamburger at McDonald’s”, he answers and calculates that it would only cost 1.40 euros (note: the actual price is at least 1.70 euros), and together with fries that would be 3.50 euros .
“Then we are in the GDR“
It is not healthy, but it is cheap, but if the state intervenes with ‘calorie tables’ you would already be in a ‘state economy’, he continues. Every child must be ‘registered’ and ‘we look at how much food the child gets and how it is fed and then we are in the GDR.’
The ÖVP confirmed the authenticity of the video to Puls24, but said it had been “cut together”. “Like the Chancellor, we are convinced that every child in Austria can get a hot meal if parents take their responsibility, especially because we are supporting families like never before,” the Chancellor’s statements were repeated.
apology for „“shameful” statements demanded
In any case, the video is causing a stir on social media. SPÖ deputy federal chairman Eva-Maria Holzleitner demanded an apology from the chancellor to the country’s women, who had simply accused Nehammer of being “lazy.”
NEOS MP Henrike Brandstötter described the statements as “shocking” because the ÖVP has been unable to create appropriate preconditions for women for decades “so that they are not dependent on their partner or the state.” Green trade unionist Karin also found Stanger’s harsh words – she summarized the statements as “absolutely quixotic and shameful”.
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.
