The coalition negotiations are becoming more intense again. On Wednesday afternoon, the heads of the three negotiating teams will meet experts for a “round table” on economic issues. The budget would then have to be relaxed – while the Greens are already launching pre-emptive attacks.
The next meeting of the presidents of ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS is scheduled for Thursday. In this case, the budget figures should be kept out of discussion as much as possible.
Regarding the need for consolidation, figures between 15 and 23 billion euros have been circulating recently. The SPÖ insists that the data be quickly put out of discussion so that a consolidation process can be mapped out. The ÖVP, in turn, wants to include updated EU figures, which, according to party leader Karl Nehammer, will only be available halfway through the month.
The economic figures are getting worse and worse
The outlook is unlikely to improve as the latest economic data showed a surprisingly negative picture on Wednesday. The 0.6 percent GDP loss in the third quarter is significantly higher than Wifo’s 0.1 percent forecast, which also formed the basis for the economic research institute’s deficit forecast.
It can therefore be assumed that the next forecast expected shortly before Christmas will be even worse than the last mentioned 3.7 percent for this year and four for 2025.
Sharp criticism from the Greens
For the Greens, however, climate protection “does not have the importance it needs” in the current government negotiations. “There are three people at the table for whom climate protection is not that important,” criticized Leonore Gewessler in Vienna on Wednesday.
It is a bad signal that climate protection in the negotiations only takes place “on the fly” and that the ÖVP wants to destroy the climate ministry. Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) said more than two weeks ago that he did not want “large and cumbersome” ministries. “We were told a lot, but calm was never a problem,” the minister responded.
Party leader Werner Kogler also emphasized this. The ministries were negotiated towards the end before the final government was formed, and Gewessler was “fully deliberately” given responsibility for a “super-ministry” – which was described as such. Be that as it may, the Greens had “delivered” when it came to climate protection, Gewessler said, including introducing the climate ticket into the meeting.
Also because the budget needs to be urgently restructured, the Greens fear cuts in climate protection measures. Kogler criticized “the fact that growth was reported earlier, but then we were in the red.” Despite these predictions, one has to wonder where the money went. “Many measures will expire” because these support measures were provided during different crises. Moreover, we have inherited a “complete dependence on gas supplies,” he said, justifying himself to his party.
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.
