The plans to introduce a payment card for refugees are not new, but they are more relevant than ever. Who is pushing the plans forward, what political alliances there could be and what asylum expert Lukas Gahleitner-Gertz says about the system.
It’s an early summer evening on May 30, 2017 in Moscow. The Austrian Embassy was invited to a reception in honor of then Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka – and prominent guests. Jan Marsalek, then CFO of Wirecard and now one of the most wanted men in the world, is also at the table. A photo showing Sobotka and Marsalek together would later become public. It is not known whether the two discussed Wirecard’s planned ‘Refugee Card’, a kind of debit card for refugees who provide basic services, that evening. Seven years later, this is exactly what is becoming a problem again. And once again, a former high-ranking black man from Lower Austria is sitting at the table during the simulation games.
Former ÖVP Vice Chancellor Michael Spindelegger is general director of the Vienna-based Center for Migration Policy Development. Apparently a payment card model has been developed there, which guarantees the switch from cash to benefits in kind for basic services for asylum seekers and which could soon be used in Bavaria. The Ministry of the Interior is also looking into this in more detail.
Meetings planned with the countries
Minister Gerhard Karner confirmed that his fellow party member was one of the contact persons for the possible red-white-red model. During a meeting in June, he wants to discuss with the states how to proceed with the introduction of such a card. Be that as it may, the contract must still be put out to tender. It is about finding a cheap and efficient solution, says the minister.
Expert criticizes
Lukas Gahleitner-Gertz, one of the best-known local asylum experts, doubts whether such a solution can even exist. “We are talking about whether we should introduce our own payment system for this group of less than 4,000 asylum seekers who have to pay 210 euros monthly for food, travel tickets and medicines. A separate system entails enormous additional costs, which mainly benefits the payment card system operator,” he revealed to the “Krone”.
Mikl-Leitner detects positive SPÖ signals
The Governor of Lower Austria, Johanna Mikl-Leitner, explained again on Friday during a joint meeting with Minister of the Interior Gerhard Karner (both ÖVP) in St. Pölten why she considers the switch from cash to benefits in kind to be sensible. If cash payouts were limited, there would be significantly less incentives for illegal migration and fewer opportunities to transfer state aid to the respective countries of origin, the governor explained.
She now finds support for this not only from the FPÖ, with which she has even written down the change in the government program, but also from the SPÖ. “This is a question of fact, a question of reasonableness. In Germany there is now agreement across party lines. I think we can still do that. “I have also heard many positive signals from the SPÖ,” she told the “Krone”.
SPÖ warns against ‘Marsalek model’
It is not known exactly who the ‘positive signals’ come from. In any case, Hans Peter Doskozil was critical of the model. “If the Marsalek model had been implemented, the damage to the republic would have been enormous if the cards stopped working overnight after the bankruptcy,” says a red strategist, explaining Spindelegger’s possible involvement: “In any case, a model that ultimately only benefits party friends should not be visible.”
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.
