The government has failed in its plan to halve poverty in Austria. According to the new social report, 1.3 million people in this country are at risk of poverty. That is about 15 percent of the population. The reasons for the poverty are the many crises, Corona, the war in Ukraine and inflation, says Social Affairs Minister Johannes Rauch.
The minister is now much more modest than in the government programme. On the positive side, poverty rates have not increased further. Considering the crisis situations we have had, this is “good news”. Rauch suggests, among other things, basic child welfare as a measure against poverty. But he admits that this will not happen again in this legislature.
Basic social rights demanded
The most effective poverty policy is to prevent poverty. According to the social report, this fundamentally includes guaranteeing a minimum standard of living for all people in Austria. A minimum standard of living could be established in the form of basic social rights. Examples include the right to housing, including the provision of energy, water and digital infrastructure, the right to education, training and qualifications, the right to healthcare, childcare, the right to mobility and the right to paid work.
Right to education as central key
Basic social rights must be realized through universal basic services: services that are made unconditionally available to everyone who needs them. For example, the right to education could be implemented through the provision of high-quality childcare, and the right to paid work could be implemented through a job or employment guarantee.
In the poverty debate, the SPÖ pays special attention to children growing up at home. They are often left alone at the age of 18 and are therefore completely overwhelmed. The “Krone” reported on their fate. Member of the National Council Christian Oxonitsch accuses the responsible Minister for Family Affairs, Susanne Raab (ÖVP), of complete passivity and a lack of empathy and interest. Raab is characterized by a lack of interest in the field of child and youth care.
Six years ago, under turquoise blue, child and youth care was transferred to the responsibility of the federal states. The SPÖ agreed at the time on the condition that the federal government would assume its obligations in the field of research and quality assurance. But that didn’t happen, Oxonitsch criticizes. On Thursday he will submit a motion to the Social Commission on child and youth care and continued care for so-called care leavers (young people who have been released from social assistance, note).
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.
