Image: VOLKER Weihbold
KTM boss Stefan Pierer has been president of the Upper Austrian Federation of Industry (IV) for a year. On Monday, the general assembly and industry reception took place at Kepler University. The industry has done well, but the challenges are extreme with homegrown inflation, the energy crisis and geopolitics, Pierer said.
He accused the EU and the member states of “regulating Europe to a standstill” and warned against “experiments” in Austria’s politics. Above all, Pierer criticized ideas of the Social Democrats such as reducing working hours with full wage compensation, wealth taxes, nationalization, but also “bans under the green guise”. “There is no country in the world where Marxism and a planned economy have ever led to prosperity,” said Pierer. It needs full focus on innovation, qualification, entrepreneurship, growth.
On the subject of “performance must pay off (again)” there is a standstill in the VP/Green coalition, although incentives for overtime, full-time work and regular pension work have been announced for the spring. “Non-time or part-time work will continue to be promoted instead of overtime and longer work,” says Pierer.
The German economist Lars Feld was a guest and named demographics, high costs and geostrategic development as Europe’s three major problems. It is important to reduce tax and regulatory costs.
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