In the “Krone” interview, Secretary of State for Youth Claudia Plakolm (ÖVP) explains why it should be more attractive for young people to live in grandma’s old house and why cannabis should not be legalized.
„Krone“: Madam Secretary of State, one of your main goals is to make housing more affordable for young people. What is the situation in Lower Austria at this point?
Claudia Plakolm: It is clear that young people want to build something and that is hardly possible at the moment. There are a few screws here that can be turned politically. At the federal level, I am therefore campaigning to reduce the additional cost of the state on the first home. This applies to the transfer tax and various registration duties. At the national level, a lot has been achieved with the Young Living project. In all federal states, however, there is still some catching up to do in the field of renovation.
What do you mean?
It should become more financially attractive for me to renovate and move into an old house, like grandma’s for example. This is financially more advantageous and in terms of land use. We need to make sure we use spaces that are already locked.
Lower Austria has continued to implement emergency measures that mainly benefit young families. What do you think about this and when will the federal government follow suit?
The Minister of Finance is trying to find a solution for the energy price at European level before the autumn. In a small country like Austria, big solutions help. If we are not able to do it by the autumn, we are dependent on a national solution.
A uniform national solution?
National uniform yes. I think it is good that Lower Austria has set the example here. The measures relieve people where they see the price rise the most. But now let’s see if we can find solidarity on this issue at European level.
The Socialist Youth in Lower Austria is currently demanding the legalization of cannabis. As is known, the Constitutional Court has recently rejected this. What do you think about this as State Secretary and leader of the Youth Party?
Certainly if you look back on the past few years, we have much more important and urgent matters. The Constitutional Court has ruled that there will be no decriminalization of cannabis. That is acceptable and welcome.
Source: Krone
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