On Wednesday, Green Party representative Astrid Rössler sharply criticized Constitutional Minister Karoline Edtstadler (ÖVP) in the National Council, accusing her of, among other things, “fact-free” criticism of the EU Renaturation Act. The attacked minister, in turn, criticized Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens), without mentioning her by name.
The argument occurred in a debate in which an emotional confrontation was not to be expected. It was regarding the second national report on the implementation of the UN sustainability goals. Rössler found the content to be quite good. She just had “very serious doubts” as to whether Edtstadler also stood behind the content of the report. Because she was blocking and fighting its implementation: “Pretty photos are not enough.”
“We need intact nature”
Rössler recalled that Edtstadler had withdrawn the national climate plan from the EU. She was also fighting biodiversity by voting no to the renaturation law. In addition, there was the criminal complaint once morest Gewessler, although she had acted correctly and responsibly: “We need intact nature.”
The Minister for Constitutional Affairs did not want to accept this. In a constitutional state, one must distinguish between form and content: “In a constitutional state, it does matter what is in the constitution,” she said, referring to the legal position of the ÖVP (and the Constitutional Service), according to which Gewessler should not have approved the renaturation law on his own. In terms of the climate plan, Edtstadler stressed that a national plan must also be coordinated nationally. In doing so, concerns must also be taken into account, instead of putting ideology first and implementing something without regard to losses.