Austria's traffic light coalition: Rent freeze is causing political trouble!

Austria's traffic light coalition: Rent freeze is causing political trouble!

The new traffic light coalition in Austria is already facing enormous challenges at the beginning of its term in office. Immediately after the formation of the government, important measures such as a rent freeze and a strict austerity package were initiated. However, these projects face massive resistance from the FPÖ, which vehemently opposes most of the coalition's proposals, apart from the rent regulation, which it did support. This comes from a report by Kosmo.at out.

Particularly explosive is the rent freeze, which is to be introduced as part of the government program to prevent rents from rising by three percent from April due to inflation. This was emphasized by State Secretary and SPÖ politician Michaela Schmidt, who noted that this measure could save around 140 million euros in rental expenses. This step was considered important in order to ensure fair rental prices in old buildings as well as in municipal and cooperative apartments. In Germany, there is a discussion about rent caps, especially within the Left party, which makes the SPÖ's commitment in Austria all the more remarkable Exxpress.at reported.

Criticism from within our own ranks

But it's not just the FPÖ that criticizes the traffic light government's measures. There are tensions within the coalition. Critics accuse Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger of not dealing sufficiently with national politics. While the FPÖ propagates a restrictive migration policy, the temporary suspension of family reunification is seen as a deception that is supposedly intended to promote security, but in fact facilitates illegal immigration. The financing measures, which include the abolition of educational leave and the increase in various taxes, are also being monitored. These decisions should be passed in April or May at the latest in order to relieve the government's budget situation.