Parliament thrived because of the pandemic. On Friday, however, the National Council said goodbye to the summer holidays. The “Krone” addressed the question of who was most active during the crisis.
40 resolutions were performed in 40 hours. After the monster program it was time for summer. After 2.5 years of crisis, it will be little more than a short breather. All 183 MPs are on hold as a special session is convened to address the gas crisis.
Recording during rest
Yet half of the term of office is over, time to take stock. Parliamentarianism has flourished due to the pandemic, lockdown, mandatory vaccination and the like. Harsh discourse and begging increased as the pandemic lasted longer. At this stage, the social spokespersons of the parties were the “crisis winners”.
NEOS-Loacker speaks very often
Gerald Loacker tops the list of the hardest-working MPs. The Ländle’s NEOS spokesperson proudly delivered 171 speeches on May 31. What sets the job market and health experts apart are provocative speeches. “Only a few MPs can spontaneously step up to the lectern to give an answer,” Loacker said.
clamber for other talk time
To get speaking time, you also need assertiveness. Depending on the number of representatives, each party is given a certain amount of speaking time, which is then divided among the members of the group. “Speaking times before 1pm are the most popular because you’re on TV. That’s why there’s fighting,” Loacker says about everyday life. Others like Stefanie Krisper (Neos) or Jan Krainer (SPÖ) score in the party inquiry committee instead of at the lectern. Your performance is not reflected in any statistics.
The ranking of ministers is also interesting, especially in this term of office. Many who are no longer on the government bench would be in the top five. For example, ex-Finance Minister Gernot Blümel with 37 speeches.
Strache serves time
Someone who has the most talk time, but doesn’t use it, is Philippa Strache. As a wild MP you get about 20 minutes per plenary day to contribute to the debate. Since the fall of 2019, Strache has spoken only 21 times.
In comparison, former wild MP Martha Bißmann gave 69 speeches in 12 months. Seen in this way, Strache is the laziest mandate holder because she does not have to fill any commissions as a self-employed person. She’s just passing the time.
Source: Krone
I’m an experienced news author and editor based in New York City. I specialize in covering healthcare news stories for Today Times Live, helping to keep readers informed on the latest developments related to the industry. I have a deep understanding of medical topics, including emerging treatments and drugs, the changing laws that regulate healthcare providers, and other matters that affect public health.
