2023-07-09 03:13:06
Constitutional Minister Karoline Edtstadler (ÖVP) can imagine unraveling the judicial package stuck in the coalition stalemate: “Less is better than nothing,” says the department head in an APA interview and insists above all on improvements in the reimbursement of costs for those who have been acquitted. Edtstadler has not given up on the Freedom of Information Act, on the contrary – she says: “We are on the last meters.”
Over the past few months, if not years, both the abolition of official secrecy and the reform of the commander-in-chief combined with an increase in the rights of the accused have proven to be unsolvable in the coalition. But Edtstadler sees no reason to throw in the towel: “We still have more than a year to go. There might still be some progress.”
She believes that, above all, with the Freedom of Information Act, even if the chairman of the conference of state governors, Carinthia’s head of state Peter Kaiser (SPÖ), recently said that it might take another year before an agreement is reached. The constitutional minister hopes that this statement should not be taken to mean that the SPÖ does not want an understanding at all. A two-thirds majority is required for a decision.
Edtstadler thinks that it is now “common sense” that the law is needed and that Austria wants and needs to be a modern constitutional state. One can assume that she is in good discussions with all stakeholders – including the fundamentally skeptical communities. The devil is in the detail.
The positions of the coalition partners are pretty much cemented in the hands of the federal prosecutor, as the constitutional minister concedes. There hasn’t been any movement here lately. But that’s not the only point for her, she refers to an increase in the rights of suspects agreed in the government program. She will stay here until the end of the legislative period. As far as cell phone data evaluation is concerned, she is waiting for an upcoming ruling from the Constitutional Court. According to this, there might in any case be a need for action.
The constitutional minister doesn’t think much of state security’s rumored ideas regarding criminalizing fake news. She would be “reluctant” to threaten “with the club of criminal law” right away. She does not want to restrict freedom of the press or freedom of expression. The most important thing is that we as a society learn to deal with the new forms of communication such as information – and not only young people but also adults. On the other hand, she can imagine more possibilities for the prevention of terrorism, as desired by state security. Edstadler doesn’t think it’s good to “apodictically” reject measures here.
She sees the fact that voters have recently been increasingly drawn to parties on the fringes to be due to the various crises of the past few years and the seductively simple answers to them that extreme movements would give. According to the minister, further training helps. She thinks that the influx to the KPÖ, for example, is also related to the fact that many voters no longer even know what suffering communism has brought to the world.
As far as future coalitions are concerned, Edtstadler has drawn her “red line” with FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl. But there are also “constructive forces” in the FPÖ that you can work with. With regard to the SPÖ, Edtstadler hopes that this will be consolidated before the National Council elections “and that constructive forces will then come up with solutions for the future.” The minister sees the previous approaches of the new SPÖ chairman Andreas Babler as “extreme”.
Edtstadler, who has repeatedly indicated a certain interest in the position of EU Commissioner, does not want to talk regarding her own political future, as this is in the stars. The Europe Minister is very reluctant to answer the question of whether she would like Othmar Karas to appear on the ÖVP list once more. The party has to decide what role it should play in the People’s Party. Recently there has been speculation that Karas might compete with his own list.
Edtstadler would like to continue campaigning for the Jewish community in Austria. She even wants to spend more money. The previous financial support was important: “But there will be considerations as to how this can be expanded and expanded.” A Shoah center, as desired by the Jewish religious community, is “a very good idea” for the constitutional minister. Because right now, when you are losing more eyewitnesses, “we are well advised to consider what an alternative might be to convey history.”
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