Shortly before this, however, agreements were reached on the security strategy, appointments and the National Energy and Climate Plan. While many projects were implemented, others – such as the Climate Protection Act or the monitoring of messenger services – were thwarted by differing world views.
Personnel matters in particular have repeatedly caused headaches for the black-green coalition, which initially recorded the agreements in a side letter. When the parties finally agreed, it was usually on the basis of a quid pro quo. This was recently made clear when the ÖVP ministers Magnus Brunner was appointed as EU Commissioner and Martin Kocher as head of the National Bank after an initial blockade by the Greens. Other appointments had much longer lead times: the appointment process for the President of the Federal Administrative Court (BVwG), for example, took over a year.
Agreements on stalled projects
Brunner’s nomination was followed by further agreements on stalled projects. There is now an Austrian National Energy and Climate Plan (NEKP). Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) had already sent a draft to the EU Commission. However, it was withdrawn by EU Minister Karoline Edtstadler (ÖVP), citing a lack of coordination within the government. The National Security Strategy, the predecessor of which dates back to 2013, was also adopted. Russia is no longer described as a strategic partner, but as a threat to Europe, and at the insistence of the Greens, the plan also includes the phase-out of Russian natural gas by 2027. The opposition criticized the lack of involvement of parliament.
The coalition, which had already steered Austria through the Corona and inflation crises and survived a change of chancellor, almost collapsed two and a half months ago. The fact that Gewessler agreed to the EU renaturation regulation despite the negative attitude of the ÖVP and most of the federal states is still causing resentment among the People’s Party. The parties were reluctant to sit together afterwards, and the following cabinet meeting was promptly cancelled. The ÖVP ultimately settled for filing a complaint against the minister and the chancellor’s announcement that he no longer wanted to sit in a government with her in the future.
Another National Council meeting
The government still has to take action on the seizure of cell phones, which was overturned by the Constitutional Court (VfGH). The law must be repaired by the end of 2024, and Justice Minister Alma Zadić (Greens) recently proposed changes in a draft for review. A National Council meeting is scheduled for September – before the election – in which this decision could be made.
When the federal government took office in 2020, it set itself a total of 232 pages of goals in its government program. One of the most prominent among these was the Climate Protection Act, which was intended to guide Austria towards climate neutrality by 2040 with binding reduction paths. However, the Greens were unable to meet the ÖVP’s requirements here. A soil protection strategy to slow down land consumption to the target of 2.5 hectares per day anchored in the government program has not yet emerged. Most recently, the ÖVP spoke out against the abolition of environmentally harmful subsidies such as the commuter allowance, which is to be made more environmentally friendly according to the government program, or the diesel privilege.
Pensionssplitting
The automatic pension splitting advocated by the ÖVP has so far failed due to resistance from the Greens, who are demanding a larger package to combat poverty among women in old age. The ÖVP was also unable to implement its proposal to monitor messenger services in order to prevent terrorist attacks with the Greens. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) has sent a draft law on this for review, but the deadline for comments does not end until September 25. This makes a decision before the election highly unlikely. The parties were also unable to agree on a change in the chain of command in the judiciary, which is currently headed by the Minister of Justice, as they are striving for different solutions.
The measures that cannot be implemented with the coalition partner have now partly mutated into demands in election manifestos. The Greens want more soil protection and a climate protection law under the new name “Climate Framework Act”, while the ÖVP is emphatically demanding the monitoring of messenger services. Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) recently declared the measure a coalition condition.
The financial situation in the country was discussed a lot, with experts from the IHS, Wifo and the Fiscal Council calling for austerity packages worth billions to be implemented by the next government. This means that Austria has not managed to reduce its debt ratio towards the Maastricht target of 60 percent. The National Bank expects a figure of 77.3 percent this year.
Compulsory education
There is no compulsory education included in the government program, nor is there the preventive detention for dangerous individuals desired by the ÖVP or the headscarf ban for schoolgirls under 14. Due to a ruling by the Constitutional Court, the composition of the ORF committees requires a reform that the next government will probably have to address.
However, many projects have already been implemented, such as the Freedom of Information Act and the abolition of official secrecy, as well as the reorganization of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism (BVT), which was replaced by the Directorate for State Protection and Intelligence (DSN).
The cold progression is history. The climate issue, which runs through the entire government program, was at the center of the eco-social tax reform, which brought about CO2 pricing and the climate bonus, among other things. There is also a new financial equalization between the federal government, states and municipalities that will be valid until 2028. 4.5 billion euros will be invested in the expansion of childcare by 2030. The financial equalization also included the health care reform, which simplifies the establishment of group practices and primary care units, for example.
In general, a record is emerging in terms of resolutions: since the 1970s, according to parliamentary correspondence, no more than 900 legislative resolutions have been passed within a legislative period; under the black-green coalition, the figure is already 929. One reason could be the corona pandemic, as numerous special provisions were passed during this time and in some cases extended several times.
