Country chief interview – Kaiser: ‘All warnings ignored’

The governor of Carinthia, Peter Kaiser (SPÖ) has a tough election campaign ahead of him in early 2023. Ten years after his first election victory, he wants to run for a third term. The favorable mood for the SPÖ seems to bring a third term within reach. To this end, he wants to fight inflation with deeply social-democratic recipes.

„krone“:What kind of drive does your company car have?
Peter Keizer: It has a hybrid drive.

That means you need fuel. Last week you suggested 100 km/h on the Autobahn. How do you overcome a gas crisis by saving fuel?
In the interview “ZIB 2” I was asked how you can make your own contribution to saving energy. All studies show that speed reductions minimize personal expenses and consumption and protect the environment and climate.

However, you said that you would rather drive 100 km/h than a closed factory installation. One cannot prevent the other?
Of course not 1:1. Now it makes more sense than ever to combine energy-saving measures with measures to protect the climate. We will now need both. The states would be happy if the federal government communicated more about what measures can be taken to save electricity. So far nothing has happened.

The scenario reminds the Corona management. The dispute between the SPÖ states and the federal government is a long-running issue. Is that a scam by the SPÖ states?
Rather, it is a trick of the federal government to deliberately omit some partners, such as the three SPÖ states, from communication and information. In the event of a fire, the federal government calls on all states for help. If there are supposed simplifications to be announced, then the Länder will be at least partially excluded. That does not show a sense of responsibility or leadership.

The fact is that from August, France will also abolish the quarantine – and the French were much stricter with the measures than Austria. So Austria is not alone…
All experts confirm that the situation of the countries cannot be compared. In other states, vaccination rates are higher and/or quarantine has been suspended due to declining numbers. Only in Austria has the federal government ignored all warnings and made a stubborn decision – probably more because of the plummeting polls rather than taking its overall responsibility. According to experts, the federal government will maneuver Austria from a summer wave into an autumn wave. And vulnerable people, the elderly, cancer patients and others, are unnecessarily more at risk. Even the GECKO advisory team set up by the federal government itself warns of the end of the quarantine at a time when the number of infections is increasing.

There is a violent clinch between the city of Vienna and the government that the city of Vienna does not report whether people with or because of Corona are in hospital. Does the state of Carinthia provide the data?
Yes. The data is reported by the hospitals.

Let’s get back to inflation. They advocate progressive energy prices. No general coverage, like your party leader. The government model of the electricity price brake is very similar to yours. You should be happy with thatto be …
I am for the confiscation of excess profits. This should relieve households on the one hand and encourage companies to invest in regenerative energy on the other. You have to use the money to make sure there are no warnings or shutdowns on socially disadvantaged people to fight electricity poverty.

Then you are in favor of a special dividend payment, but no penalty tax like Pamela Rendi-Wagner.
That’s a semantic difference.

You already know that semantics is important to stock prices. If we speak of penalty tax, then the prices crash, if we speak of a special dividend payment, then the price remains more stable…
I choose semantics that are not focused on stock prices, the capital market and profit. Rather, I wonder: how can we meet the great challenge of the climate situation? How can a household still pay the electricity prices? And what can those who bring in more money now do about it?

If you want to tackle energy companies’ profits differently, what do you think of the union’s proposal to suspend or reduce VAT? All economists say this model is dying out.
If I want basic needs to be covered despite inflation and the crisis, you have to define that clearly. This is guaranteed by keeping the most important basic foodstuffs affordable. If I suspend the VAT rate for a while – but that has to be linked to inflation – it would help those who have little money to spend a lot more.

Do you also want official price regulation?
If you want to do it really hard, do both. The reduction of VAT and price regulation. In addition to basic food, it is important that everyone has a roof over their head.

It also requires a reduction in rental and operating costs. That failed in Berlin, where 60,000 fewer apartments were built.
After a year in which there were no evictions. It is important that this is not passed on to the tenants.

In the polls, the SPÖ is around 30 percent. Mayor Ludwig prefers a large coalition. Which model are you for?
If there are elections, which are unlikely to take place anytime soon, I can envision a new coalition form. SPÖ, Neos and Greens would have many exciting and progressive aspects.

During the BlackCat hacker attack on the state government, data is known to indicate that files were withheld from the Hypo-U Commission. Are you glad that Carinthia has no MPs like your party colleague Jan Krainer? He would have gone straight to the Constitutional Court.
There are big differences. Because there are still creditors at Hypo who are still on hold. The information that goes out here is already of a different nature. Data rooms should be set up for the U-committee, where data security is maintained. The state government cannot decide on that.