Burgenland's communities in the financial crisis: Who is responsible?

In a turbulent meeting of the Burgenland state parliament on Wednesday, the governor Hans Peter Doskozil (SPÖ) presented the budget 2025 and vehemently defended the finances of the country. Even the criticism of the ÖVP, which accused an "imbalance" of the finances, could not get it disturbed. Doskozil replied: "We have a stable budget. We have stable finances." Massive investments in care, health and infrastructure have been made in the past five years, and despite the challenges of Corona pandemic, he is only planning a new debt of 50 million euros for 2025, whereby no further debt is to be sought for 2030. This is accompanied by a staff cover of 250 million euros.

In addition to the financial challenges, Doskozil also gave a look back at the country's consultant costs. He emphasized the need for external advice on legal matters and said that "every cent of these consulting services was worth it". However, this is contrasting to the sharp allegations of the Greens, which accuse the SPÖ to hold back federal funds and thus want to restrict the municipalities in their solvency. Anja Haider-Wallner criticized the Greens that over 100 million euros that the federal government has provided for supporting the municipalities since 2020 have not been forwarded, which could affect local infrastructure and projects, such as meinbezirk.at reported.

Criticism of the distribution of funds

While the Greens question the responsibility of the SPÖ in the financial distribution, Doskozil relies on a record investment of over 82 million euros for 2024 in need allocations to the municipalities. He describes this sum as a sign of the country's commitment in difficult times. Despite the turbulent financial circumstances, Doskozil remains optimistic and considers the position of his party to be strong, especially with regard to the challenges of inflation and economic uncertainty. However, the debates could continue to worsen because the citizens could soon feel the effects of the political clashes on their municipal households, such as oe24.at