2024-09-25 22:04:17
GR Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Stefan Gara (NEOS) compared the debate to a therapy session between the FPÖ and ÖVP. Four days before the election, a coalition between black and blue is already being explored; the problem is that the ÖVP cannot distinguish “symptom from cause”. Vienna is left alone with immigration, the other federal states are not meeting the asylum quotas. He called for a three-year residency requirement for recognized refugees, but the ÖVP vehemently rejects this at the federal level. In the health system, the opposition cannot distinguish between federal and state competence – specifically who is responsible for statutory health insurance doctors or hospitals, said Gara. Vienna is also under great pressure in the health system because Vienna is taking on many patients from the federal states and no reform has been achieved in financial equalization, said Gara. “We are looking at what the causes are and how we can solve them accordingly,” said the NEOS representative from the perspective of the city’s governing parties. “We will of course not agree to the motion of no confidence,” concluded Gara.
GR Dr. Markus Wölbitsch, MIM (ÖVP) wanted to try to “factually debate” the issue of minimum income. In public, the city government had already lost the debate, said Wölbitsch. He did not accept the argument that if the minimum income were adjusted to that of neighboring federal states, poverty would become rampant on the streets. He also did not want to accept other “myths” about minimum income, for example that high payouts would only affect a few large families; and that a large part of the minimum income would only be paid on income from work. He called for a “fairness debate” on minimum income. The money for minimum income is not paid into the children’s accounts, but to the parents. It is therefore important to compare the household income of families who work and those who receive minimum income. It must always be more attractive to work than to live on transfer payments – this is fair to the people who pay into the social system, said Wölbitsch. The ÖVP is committed to helping people who have found themselves in a difficult situation, but they must take responsibility for their own lives again, said Wölbitsch, explaining the ÖVP’s conviction as a Christian-social party. Solidarity is not a one-way street: it begins to crumble when people have the impression that they are continuing to use their money to support people who could actually help themselves – from the ÖVP representative’s point of view, this growing impression among the population is helping to strengthen the extreme fringes, said Wölbitsch. With a median income of just over 2,000 euros, it is attractive to remain on minimum income with earnings of up to 4,600 euros, said Wölbitsch. “How can we get these people back into the world of work – voluntarily?” asked Wölbitsch. You could raise the minimum wage, but that would “destroy” the economy, or you could start with minimum income. The SPÖ and Social Affairs Councillor Hacker would not contribute anything to solving this dilemma, which is why the ÖVP resorted to “the strongest means of displeasure”, the motion of no confidence. Wölbitsch also criticised the way the council dealt with requests from the opposition that were left unanswered; the ÖVP councillor also criticised SPÖ councillor Hacker for the “numerous construction sites in the health sector” that had also been left unfinished.
GRin Marina Hanke, BA (SPÖ) quoted from the motion of no confidence, which identified the city council’s minimum income policy as the “biggest social problem” in the city. Hanke, on the other hand, identified social problems elsewhere, as she emphasized: the risk of poverty for single parents and their children, the social and material deprivation of pensioners living alone, and the generally low wages for employees. She recalled that ÖVP chancellors had boasted about achieving the lowest possible wage agreements in times of rising inflation. She rejected the accusation of “hostility to performance.” It was a mockery of minimum income recipients who topped up their wages with the social benefit, or people with disabilities who depend on this transfer payment. Vienna is not far behind other federal states when it comes to minimum income payments; there are also sanctions for people who do not cooperate in measures to help them get back into the world of work, Hanke pointed out. The minimum income is a stepping stone back to work, said the SPÖ councillor. She referred to the offers for young unemployed people or the College 25+ specifically for young refugees. “We don’t want any child in our city to be unable to grow up without worries,” said Hanke. Child poverty means “that there are people who hope that maybe someone in their area or in a second-hand shop will find a jacket that fits now that winter is starting,” said Hanke. She opposed taking money away from children “who already have nothing.” She criticized the poor performance of the business party ÖVP at the federal level, saying that Austria is characterized by a weak economy and rising inflation and unemployment. The patient billion, which was also celebrated at the federal level, was a “marketing gimmick” that cost more than it saved, said Hanke in reference to the FPÖ.
GRin Mag. Caroline Hungerländer (ÖVP) countered her previous speakers: The statements about passing on clothing to siblings were “out of touch”; it was not about warm jackets for the start of winter; the governing parties had also not been able to explain what work incentives could work with transfer payments of 4,600 euros. Vienna had also long ruled out “that someone could be forced to integrate”. Many people receiving minimum income are people of working age, and the ÖVP’s criticism is aimed at them, said Hungerländer. City Councillor Hacker is not only responsible for minimum income, but also for the city’s hospitals, which continue to suffer from severe staff shortages, which the city council has not addressed. Vienna can no longer cope with migration and, above all, the influx of people from family reunification, as Education Councillor Wiederkehr (NEOS) has also stated, recalled Hungerländer. This cry for help from its own ranks is being ignored by the city government. For the population, this means longer waiting times, for example in hospital or at the doctor’s, because fewer and fewer students are reaching educational standards or sitting in container classes “or then there’s a knife fight in Favoriten or a small gang war,” said Hungerländer. The city government should have “pressed the stop button” on migration a long time ago, demanded Hungerländer, the high minimum income is a significant “pull factor” for immigration, “internal migration is real.” The city government had put forward proposals for changes and “really seriously dealt with the problems” and received only “ridicule and scorn.” This was not only bad style, but also undemocratic, Hungerländer accused city councilor Hacker. The city’s social policy would undermine the social fabric and threaten the social system, Hungerländer concluded.
State Councillor Dominik Nepp, MA (FPÖ) spoke up again. He criticised the inequality between a working single mother and a Syrian or Afghan recipient of minimum benefits. The latter would receive 300 euros per child, while the working mother would receive nothing, said Nepp. Minimum benefits are “a business model for certain groups of immigrants”, claimed Nepp. He reported on asylum seekers who, thanks to family relocation, would receive up to 4,000 euros through minimum benefits. This is not fair, stressed Nepp.
Vote: The motion of no confidence brought forward by the ÖVP and FPÖ against the acting city councillor for social affairs, health and sport, Peter Hacker (SPÖ), only received the votes of the two submitting parties and thus did not receive a sufficient majority. Another motion by the ÖVP to reform the needs-based minimum income in Vienna did not receive the required majority.
The public part of the 58th session of the Vienna City Council ended at 11:48 p.m.
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