Image: (APA/ROBERT JAEGER)
Greens mandater Nina Tomaselli sharply criticized the ÖVP, accusing it of a policy for a “small privileged group, a policy for the few and not for the many”. For them, the housing assistance that is about to be decided is only the “second-best solution”. She called the ÖVP’s demand for the abolition of the real estate transfer tax “disproportionate”.
Tomaselli’s criticism was hardly milder than that of the opposition. SPÖ club boss Pamela Rendi-Wagner had previously described the failure of the brake as “sad proof” of the “ineffective and pointless work” of the Greens in the government. In the next few years, rents will increase by an average of 25 percent. Not doing anything about it would be “negligent,” says Rendi-Wagner.
SPÖ sees “lazy compromises”
The greatly increased housing allowances SPÖ disagree: “Lazy compromises that they can sleep better with it don’t help anyone.” This is all the more true as the rent increase will continue to fuel inflation. In return, Tomaselli pointed out that the Red-led Viennese state government was also supporting it with subsidies in the living area and criticized the Social Democrats’ no: “The tenants cannot do anything for the behavior of the ÖVP.”
The libertarians do not consider the SPÖ to be credible either, but they agreed with her on the matter. Mandator Hubert Fuchs called the 225 million in additional aid “not sustainable”. The increase in rents will also fuel inflation in the years that follow, because the higher tariffs will continue to be dragged along. The result is now symptomatic of the way the federal government works: “Negotiations take place for two months and then in the end the worst possible minimum solution from both worlds comes out.”
on the part of Neos Gerald Loacker also noted that inflation is being fueled, but that is no longer so important in view of the amounts of the past few months. The duel between the ÖVP and the Greens ended like the “Hornberger Shooting” for him.
Only she was really satisfied ÖVP. Housing spokesman Johann Singer emphasized that the subsidies are not only based on the reference value rents, which are particularly affected by the increase this year, but on all types of rent and also on property. He also pointed out that the protective shield against evictions would be expanded.
Specifically, it is planned that the housing and heating subsidies paid out by the federal states for this year will be increased by 225 million euros from the federal government. In addition, the so-called “living screen”, which is intended to protect against evictions, will be expanded by 25 million for 2024.
A lot of self-praise in the “current hour”
The plenary week started in the morning with a “Current Hour”. The ÖVP had given the topic “work” and never tired of praising its own achievements. The economy is stable, the growth prospects are positive and private consumption is stable. Labor Minister Martin Kocher (ÖVP) praised the government’s work as a result of the programs to boost purchasing power. Salzburg MP Peter Haubner used his position as the first speaker to make a recommendation for Governor Wilfried Haslauer (ÖVP). The opposition’s criticism ranged from the high rents to the labor shortage caused by conservative family policies.
Finally, three referendums were dealt with, all of which had dealt more or less directly with the corona pandemic. One therefore called for the resignation of the federal government, one for compensation for the corona measures and one for the abolition of them. The reports of the constitutional and health committees were noted for all three. The FPÖ introduced a resolution for a federal corona compensation fund endowed with at least 250 million euros, which was not supported by any other parliamentary group.
Source: Nachrichten
