The Zuckerl coalition should be installed in Burgenland before the date of the state elections. One thing is certain: ÖVP, SPÖ and Neos will have to make cuts and for that reason alone they will not invest more money in more ministries, but will also start saving themselves.
Does a coalition with more parties also need more ministerial positions? While the ÖVP, SPÖ and Neos want to figure this out in the new year, krone.at users have already made up their minds. 96 percent are clearly against the plans of key negotiators in the Zuckerl coalition to expand government posts from 14 to at least 16 posts in the future. And for good reasons too.
The multi-billion dollar budget gap may soon force us into an austerity diktat from Brussels, but it will certainly also force us all to make massive cuts in the coming years. Depending on whether the seven-year red-white-red budget consolidation is accompanied by an EU deficit procedure or not, savings of 18.4 or 18.1 billion euros will have to be made by 2031, according to data from the Ministry of Finance. As has been reported several times, measures such as the climate bonus and educational leave (in their current form) will probably be canceled quickly. A government that saves on its citizens must first start with itself.
That brings us to the next good reason. As shown by the answers to parliamentary questions from SPÖ club leader Philip Kucher to former ÖVP Finance Minister Magnus Brunner, the staff of the black-green federal government cost taxpayers as much as 109,000 per day and 39,889,456.31 euros per year in 2023. For comparison: under former SPÖ Chancellor Christian Kern and his former ÖVP Vice Chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner, the costs amounted to seven years ago only 25,282,389 euros.
No “savings in the system”
The current federal government explained the increase partly as a result of additional costs due to the corona pandemic. But one thing is certain: the promised ‘savings in the system’ remained in the government apparatus ‘regardless of the costs’. Black and Green employed a record number of press spokespeople, recorded record spending on government staff and experienced skyrocketing expenditure on PR. The staff costs alone for two additional ministries would cost taxpayers at least around €3 million per year, based on Black-Green data for 2023.
By expanding the political apparatus, the candy coalition would also waste political capital. The Liberal election winners are already making huge gains in surveys. The secret plans for additional ministries could also play into the Blues’ hands. “They only care about their positions and the people should pay for that. A declaration of bankruptcy before the start,” Blue Secretary General Michael Schnedlitz said in response to the “Krone” report.
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.
