Government negotiations: ÖVP urges austerity measures instead of new taxes!

Government negotiations: ÖVP urges austerity measures instead of new taxes!

Österreich - The negotiations between the ÖVP, SPÖ and Neos about a possible triple coalition continue, and everything revolves around the renovation of the state budget. While the ÖVP relies on savings, the SPÖ advocates additional income from new taxes. According to an interview with Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer, the ÖVP top negotiator, the talks in the so-called "hottest" subgroup, which deals with taxes and finances, have proven to be time-consuming and challenging. Hattmannsdorfer emphasizes that the economic situation of Austria is alarming, especially according to the bankruptcy of the motorcycle manufacturer KTM. "We all have to wake up," says Hattmannsdorfer and warns of the consequences that could result in an inadequate reaction to the crisis. "If we do not grow, we cannot keep the prosperity," he adds, as reported by today .

conflict about taxes and business strategies

The central conflict within the coalition negotiations is the question of taxes. While the ÖVP criticizes the introduction of new taxes as a "topic refusal", the SPÖ sees it as necessary to consolidate the budget, so an analysis of The press . Chancellor Nehammer has even made it clear that the negotiations could be ended quickly if the SPÖ insisted on wealth taxes. Little progress was made in the first week of the talks, as the different points of view of the parties are too far apart. Hattmannsdorfer describes the situation as a kind of "sniffing" mutual "sniffing", where everyone explains their positions without actually getting closer.

The subgroups on economic issues that are decisive for government formation should present initial results by December 12th. Hattmannsdorfer nevertheless sees the possibility that in the next round of negotiations by a better understanding between the parties, progress can be made, despite the fundamentally different views. A quick end to the negotiations could continue to burden the mood among the population, since according to current surveys, the FPÖ gains significantly in approval, while the ÖVP loses approval.