A little more than five weeks following the state elections in Lower Austria, the negotiations between the ÖVP and SPÖ are likely to enter a trend-setting phase. Most recently there was a hiccup regarding the demands of the Social Democrats. Their designated state party chairman Sven Hergovich followed up with a pithy saying in the “Zeit” on Thursday: “Before I sign an agreement that does not contain all of these points, I chop off my hand.”
Already in the previous week, Hergovich had set the conditions for a possible cooperation with the ÖVP, which are now being repeated in the “Zeit”, via a press conference. These include free all-day care in kindergartens, the expansion of a pilot project to guarantee jobs for the long-term unemployed throughout Lower Austria, a heating price freeze for households, an employment model for caring relatives and a structural offensive for neglected regions.
He made the demands transparent because he rejects “backroom politics,” Hergovich said in the interview. “The usual Austrian approach would have been to negotiate, then show what came out and claim that’s what you always wanted anyway.”
The ÖVP initially reacted with irritation at the end of the previous week. After the most recent round of negotiations on Tuesday, there were public differences of opinion on positions and financing. The SPÖ estimates the total cost of the required points up to 2028 at an average of 392 million euros per year, the largest financial chunk would be the expansion of the pilot project for the long-term unemployed. From the point of view of the ÖVP, these measures are “underfunded by around 300 million euros”.
On Wednesday, state governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner (ÖVP) also spoke up and appealed that the “interests of the state” should take precedence over “personal sensitivities”. The overarching goal of her party is to conclude a working agreement with all government parties, i.e. with the SPÖ and FPÖ. “But it is also clear that there can only be a labor agreement if it is compatible with the ideas that the people of Lower Austria have given the greatest approval to.” So with those of the People’s Party.
New negotiations between the ÖVP and SPÖ in a large group are planned for Thursday. Because the talks with the SPÖ are proving to be much tougher than originally expected by many representatives of the People’s Party, the FPÖ might become more and more interesting for blacks as an option for meetings regarding a de facto coalition, as is rumored. So far, however, the Freedom Party has not believed in “real” negotiations parallel to those between the ÖVP and the SPÖ.
In the election on January 29, the ÖVP not only lost the absolute in the Lower Austrian state parliament with 39.93 percent. For the first time, the majority in the state government is gone for blacks. The People’s Party will have four members, the FPÖ three and the SPÖ two. Like the ÖVP, the Social Democrats (20.65 percent) achieved their worst result in the state since 1945. The FPÖ achieved a record result with 24.19 percent and replaced the SPÖ in second place. The Greens once more reached club strength with 7.59 percent, the NEOS came to 6.67 percent. The constituent session of the state parliament will take place on March 23.