Coalition crisis in Austria: summit for solutions at the border point!

Coalition crisis in Austria: summit for solutions at the border point!

Austria's Chancellor Karl Nehammer from the ÖVP has indicated a turn in his tax policy in recent interviews. While he described higher taxes than "absurd" in conversations with "OÖN" and "TT", he ruled out inheritance and wealth taxes. With regard to a possible increase in property tax, however, he was open to discussions within a working group to consolidate the budget. However, the SPÖ, led by Andreas Babler, sees it differently: it demands new income and emphasizes that it is impossible to renovate the budget exclusively through savings, which Babler explained in an interview with OE24.TV. The budget consolidation process described by many is thus intensively discussed on both sides, as Ö24 reports.

But the situation is tense: a crisis summit of the top politicians from ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS is imminent to discuss the impending budget deficit of 15 billion euros. Nehammer, Babler and Beate Meinl-Reisinger want to meet this week to find a solution. Sources report a hardened front between the ÖVP and the SPÖ, which dampens the hope of an early agreement. One point of agreement could be to complete all working group work by December 12, which is considered challenging in view of the current difficulties. If no agreement is found, this could put the entire coalition project in danger, since the NEOS demand structural reforms and at the same time calls the SPÖ according to new taxes. In contrast to the line of the ÖVP, which relies on rigides savings. This dramatic development could further burden government formation in Austria, as the Exxpress analyzes.

The upcoming negotiations and the handling of the current budget situation are therefore crucial for the future of the government and thus for the entire political landscape of the country. A breakthrough is in the stars and all eyes are directed at the crisis meeting.