Coalition crisis: Budget hole of up to 23 billion euros! Where's the solution?

Coalition crisis: Budget hole of up to 23 billion euros! Where's the solution?

Negotiations on the formation of the new traffic light government in Austria, consisting of ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS, go into the decisive phase. Loud Today.at The leading politicians of the three parties informed Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen on the current status of the talks on Monday. ÖVP boss Karl Nehammer, SPÖ chairman Andreas Babler and Neos chairwoman Beate Meinl-Reisinger have stated that despite initial hopes for an agreement before Christmas, the formation of a new government could last until the new year.

Crazy points in the budget

One of the central issues remains the need for consolidation in the state budget. How kurier.at reported, there are still no uniform figures on the actual financial gaps that fluctuate between 15 and 23 billion euros. While the ÖVP only strives for savings through cuts, the SPÖ also demands new income, for example through higher taxes. In this context, Wolfgang Katzian, who sits on the SPÖ side in the top steering group, emphasized the need for a "good mix of revenue and output measures".

The negotiations have been in progress for three weeks and, according to the negotiators, should pass in a critical phase for the final clarification of disputed points in the coming days. A specific date for the next meeting of the chief negotiators has not yet been determined, but some discussions should already take place within this week. In view of the last experiences with coalition negotiations, which took place between the ÖVP and the Greens in 2019, many insiders seem to be sure that the process could take longer than expected.