Election campaign tones in the congress hall of the Chancellery: VP Integration Minister Susanne Raab presented on Thursday an initial interim report on the Leitkultur process, on which her party has been working for some time.
Raab advocated a tougher approach against “integration refusers”: Starting in the autumn, the compulsory values course for asylum seekers will be extended to one week. Anyone who does not attend the course will have to expect cuts in their social benefits. Raab: “Of course I expect the harshest possible consequences.”
A editorial Read more about the topic here.
In addition to the longer values course in the future, German courses and the signing of an “integration declaration” are also compulsory. Anyone who does not meet these requirements will also have to make do with less social assistance.
“I expect the federal states to implement the Integration Act here,” stressed the minister. The ministry will “report every violation” to the federal states responsible for the payment.
If it were up to the minister, there should be an exam at the end of the values courses.
Migrant entrepreneurs
Raab would also like to see stricter citizenship law. But that is not possible with the Greens: “I do not see any tightening with the current coalition partner.” The “Living Together in Austria” set of rules has been revised and reissued. Its focus is on gender equality and the fight against anti-Semitism, which is “increasing among young refugees,” said Raab.
The ÖVP has set itself the goal of defining an Austrian guiding culture. Johannes Klotz (OGM) presented the first interim results of the study announced at the end of March. One – not surprising – finding is that there is a difference depending on the origin of the asylum seekers; urban or rural plays a role. The labor market is also relevant: 48 percent of all small and medium-sized companies in urban areas are already run by people with a migration background.
Both Klotz and Raab saw difficulties with religion, namely Islam. For example, female police officers reported that during an operation in a mosque, they were not spoken to, but waited for male colleagues. Girls also often do not take part in swimming lessons for religious reasons. “Religious freedom is a fundamental right, but it is not unlimited,” said Klotz.
The guiding culture process is about “respect for state norms and organs,” emphasized the director of the Institute for Family Research, Wolfgang Mazal. For example, this includes a “rejection of the dominance of moral guardians,” but of course also “the acceptance of customs such as St. Martin’s Day.” Ultimately, it is “a process of reflection in which we all have to participate.”
“Zero package, waste”
The opposition parties think little of Raab’s activities. SP integration spokesman Christian Oxonitsch sees a “zero package”. He says: “We need a whole year of integration and not just two days of longer value courses!” And: 75 percent of social benefits could already be cut on certain occasions.
The verdict of Neos integration spokesman Yannick Shetty is similar. Although he welcomes the value courses, he otherwise hears little positive in Raab’s statements: “Apart from shifting responsibility to the states and blinding people with empty announcements, the ÖVP has done nothing in all these years.”
Michael Schnedlitz, the general secretary of the Freedom Party, also has no understanding “for this nonsense”. He sees the measures as nothing more than wasted taxpayers’ money on “illegal immigrants”.
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