“Difficult situation” – Nehammer “shocked” by the TV debate after the elections

36 hours after the surprising election results, ÖVP leader Nehammer still seems relaxed. But after the election campaign is before the election campaign – because the next big election date is just around the corner on September 29. The government will decide on the date of the National Council elections in the Council of Ministers on Wednesday.

“We are only the second government, after the Werner Faymann 1 cabinet, that has served for five years, although many people did not believe that at first when I became chancellor,” Nehammer said in the “Krone” interview.

Living package, cold progression
The coalition does not yet want to switch to election campaign mode. “We are currently working on the final implementation of the housing package, and then the last third of the abolition of the cold progression will be negotiated,” Nehammer said. Last year, the final third was used to alleviate the burden on families and child poverty. There is also a promise from the Chancellor that additional resources will come from the disaster fund if they are needed for the victims of the storms.

Early in his chancellorship, Nehammer described himself as a “disciple.” What has he learned over the next four months during the EU election campaign? Nehammer describes ‘growing into’ this position as a process. “Mark Rutte from the Netherlands said to me: from your second year in office you really are. You need to learn that there are many opinions when it comes to solving a problem, and then you need to choose an expert opinion and take responsibility. The longer you are in office, the faster these distractions and decisions become,” Nehammer said.

Society in “difficult situation”
He notes that society is in a very “difficult situation”. Nehammer sees a “fragmentation of society and wants to prevent division.” The ÖVP leader was “shocked by the first round of talks between the top candidates on election night. Insulting each other scares people off.” He would like to provide a counterbalance in the election campaign.

Learning effect number 3: Nehammer wants to show that he has understood where the fears lie and where it ‘puts pressure on people’. In the fight against illegal migration, he is accused of being just the blacksmith and the FPÖ the blacksmith. “The blacksmith can only be the one who bears political responsibility, because the government also acts and not just talks about it. That’s why I don’t understand this classification.”