Prammer: Karner disappointed with security measures for Austria!

Prammer: Karner disappointed with security measures for Austria!

The green security spokeswoman Agnes-Sk. Prammer on April 6, 2025 sharply attacked the Interior Minister Gerhard Karner in the ORF “press hour” in a critical statement. OTS reports that Karner makes numerous announcements, but he lacks concrete and legally implementable solutions. In her opinion, this form of politics is a bad prerequisite for an interior minister due to a lack of information.

prammer demands more clarity as to whether the police are able to effectively prevent extremist attacks and hate crime. She also expresses concerns whether the officers have the necessary resources to meet these challenges. During the interview, Karner defended his statements a little vague and missed concrete security information.

Requirements for security policy

Prammer particularly critically sees the recent announcement on monitoring measurement services, which classifies it as insecure and questionable under data protection law. It compares the situation with a prior design by the government, which was not classified by the constitutional judge. In his security policy, Karner also has a strong focus on the asylum question, while important social issues such as the fight against domestic violence and extremism are endangered.

In the ORF "press hour", Karner addressed, among other things, the return of Syrian refugees, the stop of the family reunification and the monitoring of endangers in messenger services. The discussion about illegal migration and savings potential in the Interior Ministry and the police were also the focus. According to BMI , the interview also dealt with the surveillance of hate crime.

challenges and strategies against extremism

The context of the discussion about the fight against extremism is not insignificant. Extremism has been a constant threat to the democratic constitutional state of Austria for years. In order to counteract this threat, the "nationwide network of extremism prevention and deradicalization" (BNED) was founded in 2017. This network is coordinated by the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) and is intended to aim at the early detection and the preventive combating of extremist threats.

As part of the Austrian strategy for extremism prevention and theadicalization, which was developed in 2018, various measures are intended in the areas of security, judiciary, education, social affairs, integration and media. The "National Action Plan Extremism Prevention and Deradicalization" (NAP), which was decided in May 2024, is particularly directed against the dangers of right -wing extremism and Islamism taking into account current geopolitical crises.

Prammer urgently emphasizes that in view of these challenges, more comprehensive measures are necessary to ensure security in Austria and effectively counter extremism.