On Friday, the ÖVP called its supporters to a speech by party leader and Chancellor Karl Nehammer in Wels to present an “Austria plan” and thus start the election year. The head of government drummed up in front of around 1,500 supporters the content that had already been made available to the media in the past few days. In the preliminary program there were attacks primarily against the FPÖ, but also against the SPÖ.
Nehammer wants to strengthen home ownership, for example. There are expected to be half a million more owners by 2030, which led to a standing ovation in the auditorium. He wants to create 800 new cash register positions during this period, reduce non-wage labor costs, stop the “regulatory madness”, abolish all taxes on overtime, and reward those who work full time with 1,000 euros.
Nehammer wants to combine ecology with economics. Road construction should not be neglected. Because the cars with new technologies have to drive somewhere. Another focus is security – from increased defense budgets to the fight against terrorism. Social benefits for immigrants should only be available after five years and the Chancellor also made it clear what he expected from them: “In my understanding, integration is adaptation.”
The ÖVP leader emphasized the importance of this year in his introductory words: “This year 2024 is the year of decision.” He stands for creation and thus against those who stand for destruction.
This was probably addressed to FPÖ chairman Herbert Kickl, whose party was the target of attacks in the preliminary program, especially from general secretary Christian Stocker and club boss August Wöginger. Stocker even called the Freedom Party leader a failure. Videos were also played that included Kickl’s earlier plea for lockdowns during the Corona period.
The criticism of SPÖ leader Andreas Babler was also illustrated by his claim that he was a Marxist. The climate glue finally got its fat, which was taken care of by Youth State Secretary Claudia Plakolm: “This senseless sticking has to come to an end.”
A large part of the black government team and almost all state governors from the ranks of the ÖVP, as well as party celebrities from the past, came to the Wels trade fair: from ex-party leader Josef Pröll to the ex-presidential candidates Andreas Khol and Benita Ferrero-Waldner to the Former state governors Erwin Pröll, Josef Pühringer and Waltraud Klasnic.
The key points of the Austria plan
The Austria plan with which ÖVP leader Karl Nehammer wants to go into the National Council elections consists of 82 pages. The bundle is to be distributed this Friday on the sidelines of his speech in Wels, which marks the start of the primary election campaign. The Kleine Zeitung already owns the paper.
The Austria plan contains no sensations. In terms of content, ideology and program, Nehammer is based on the already well-known DNA of the People’s Party, with the concepts of performance, family and security once again coming to the fore. What is striking, however, is the effort not to offer the FPÖ any front in terms of content. One chapter is entitled “Land of Neutrality”, another “Land of Austrian Identity” with the demand for the dominant culture to be anchored in law. The European chapter can also be found on page 66.
Regarding the individual demands from the broad potpourri of suggestions:
“Deregulation turbo”. As the paper states, Austria needs a “regime change” in terms of economic, budget and social policy. There is talk of a “deregulation turbo” and a “spending and subsidy brake”. A “turn away from interventionism and statism” is also called for.
Taxpayer. Under the slogan “Program for the five million taxpayers” Nehammer proposes reducing the Input tax rate from 20 percent to 15 percent. A full-time tax bonus of 1,000 euros is to be introduced for all those who work full-time. All overtime should be tax-free in the future. Not surprisingly, the Austria plan contains a rejection of new wealth and inheritance taxes.
Home. The idea is to introduce a state-backed home loan for your first home. All fees and taxes should be eliminated up to a total volume of one million euros.
Savings books. The capital gains tax should no longer apply to savings investments of up to 100,000 euros. A precautionary account is to be introduced by reintroducing retention periods for securities.
Receipts & Groceries. When purchasing goods or services for less than 20 euros, the requirement to provide proof that was introduced years ago should no longer apply. In order to reduce food waste, the best-before date on food should be replaced by the expiry date.
Labour market. So that unemployed people can return to work more quickly, unemployment benefits should be paid out on a degressive basis, with the replacement rate being reduced from 55 to 50 percent.
Grandparental leave. If grandparents fulfill care responsibilities instead of parents, they should be allowed to receive child care benefit. By 2030, 4.3 billion will be invested in expanding childcare.
Health. Up to a further 700 checkout points are to be introduced by 2030. There should be a professional obligation for doctors trained in Austria. The costs should be listed after every visit to the doctor. There should also be a mandatory health check for all young people – comparable to their position.
Green combustion engine. As he says, Nehammer is in favor of “common sense climate protection”. One billion euros will be invested in the further development of the green combustion engine. By 2040, 20 billion euros are to be invested in road construction to enable the mobility of electric cars, green combustion engines and hybrid vehicles.
Climate ticket. The expansion of the climate ticket for business trips as well as for tourists is being considered.
immigrant. Following the example of Denmark, which is governed by social democrats, immigrants should only have full access to social benefits after five years. Instead of cash benefits, there should be benefits in kind. Anyone who is able to work and receives social assistance must do community service work.
Asylum seekers. In order to make it more difficult to go into hiding, the freedom of movement of rejected asylum seekers should be restricted. Anyone who goes home on holiday should lose their asylum title.
Security. A “zero tolerance policy” is proposed for repeat offenders. The penalties for attacks against emergency and rescue workers should be increased – as should those for climate adhesives.
Justice. Criminals from third countries should serve their sentences abroad and prisons should be built abroad. In the event of an acquittal, all costs should be reimbursed by the state. There should be a real name requirement on the Internet.
Qualified immigration. In order to facilitate qualified immigration, the red-white-red card should be issued within 72 hours. The nostrification of degrees from certain countries should be canceled without replacement.
EU-Produkte. EU products should be given preference in public procurement. Asian, especially Chinese, products, which are heavily subsidized by the state, should only be included in tenders in exceptional situations.
Football stadium. Nehammer wants to push for the construction of a new national stadium. A winter and a summer sports week should be introduced in schools for all children.
Holocaust-Museum. The ÖVP is campaigning for the establishment of a Holocaust museum in Austria. Similar museums already exist in Israel and the USA.
People with disabilities. In order to show appreciation to people with disabilities, they should receive a salary and their own social security number in the future. They currently only receive pocket money in sheltered workshops.
Leading culture. By 2030, the Austrian dominant culture should be legally anchored as a national cultural asset. What that means in concrete terms remains unclear.
Gender. Under the slogan “Abolish gender abuse,” Nehammer makes a commitment to two genders in language. Special characters should be abolished and double entries should be used more frequently. At universities, gender is not allowed to be relevant to exams.