As the trial of Sebastian Kurz began in the grand jury room, Finance Minister Magnus Brunner delivered his budget speech in parliament. The 51-year-old from Vorarlberg talks to Conny Bischofberger about investments in the future, a gigantic mountain of debt, part-time and pension problems and his personal future.
At first glance, his office is a bit small for the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Austria. It just fits a desk, a small sofa and a conference table. At second glance it is truly beautiful. Star parquet and baroque frescoes on the ceiling, a crucifix and a Prachensky (borrowed) on the wall. And it suits Magnus Brunner’s modest nature. New on the shelf is a tea set from Uzbekistan, where Brunner, as chairman of the Board of Directors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, helped negotiate reconstruction in Ukraine. A framed caricature shows him as ‘Magnus, the Dragon Slayer’. The dragon is called inflation.
On the table between us lies the ‘stone’, as the printed budget is always called: a mountain of paper that reaches almost to the minister’s shoulders. 36,700 budget items on 4,000 pages, weight 11.7 kilos. “Our people had to work night shifts because we were very close. “People were very stressed,” says Brunner. A day before the budget speech, he visited the company’s own printing plant, where more than one and a half million sheets of A4 pages were produced. The 2024 budget, with record expenditure of 123.5 billion euros, has the ambitious title ‘Maintaining prosperity, shaping the future’.
“Kron”: When you delivered your budget speech on Wednesday, the former ÖVP chairman and chancellor was on trial at the Vienna Regional Court. Did Sebastian Kurz steal the show from you?
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
