People's attorney alarmed: 24,000 symptoms show weaknesses!

People's attorney alarmed: 24,000 symptoms show weaknesses!

On April 24, 2025, the presentation of the annual report 2024 of the Endancle Office took place in Vienna. The SPÖ public prosecution spokesman Bernhard Höfler expressed himself very impressed by the work of the institution, but at the same time alerted structural weaknesses in the state system. "24,000 symptoms are an expression of the deep distrust of many people compared to state bodies," said Höfler. Many citizens feel left alone in the areas of care, administration, health system and judiciary.

In times of crisis, Höfler called for strengthening the public prosecutor, which in his view is an important network of recess for many. He emphasized that the recommendations of the public prosecutor's office must be taken politically seriously. "There is an urgent need for action in socio -politically sensitive areas such as nursing places, medical care, arbitrariness and in prison," continued Höfler.

grievances and critical control

Höfler criticized the defects in human rights in two thirds of the tested institutions and showed special concerns about the conditions in nursing homes, the police, as well as in psychiatric departments and deportions. The SPÖ sees a political mandate here to strengthen the prosecutor and to design the administration. Höfler also emphasized the need for critical control in democracy to regain the trust of the population.

In addition to the discussion about the public prosecutor, an NGO forum of the public prosecutor's office on the subject of "fundamental social rights" took place on May 12 and 13, 2022 in Vienna. People's attorney Bernhard Achitz emphasized the urgency of anchoring social rights in the Austrian constitution. "Social human rights are often neglected," criticized Achitz and referred to the government program that provides for the resumption of negotiations on a catalog of fundamental rights.

proposals for anchoring social fundamental rights

As part of the forum, several proposals for anchoring social fundamental rights were drawn up. Central points include:

• Fundamental right to general interest
• Right to education with free choice of school
• Fundamental right to health with treatment guarantee and access to psychotherapy
• enforceable legal entitlement to care
• Fundamental right to affordable living and expansion of social residential construction
• Adjustment of all social benefits to inflation for avoidance poverty
• Protection of bogus self-employed under labor and social law

achitz plan to summarize and publish these suggestions. In addition, he emphasized the need to interfere with interference in social rights to control the Constitutional Court (VfGH). A discussion of the proposals with the parliamentary parties is already planned for the following day to ensure the functionality of the welfare state and to ensure control by the VfGH. The pressure to create a legally anchored framework for fundamental social rights could thus increase, which further promotes the debate about basic social standards in Austria.