Image: (APA/GERD EGGENBERGER)
Governor Peter Kaiser (SPÖ) and ÖVP leader Martin Gruber presented some of the around 300 points, many of which revolve around infrastructure expansion, the climate crisis, labor shortages and location development. Next week, on April 13, the constituent session of the Carinthian state parliament will take place, at which the state government will also be sworn in.
UN Sustainable Development Goals as a yardstick
Basically, Carinthia should develop into a leading business and industrial location, but also a place to live, the energy transition should be implemented more intensively, it was said at the presentation. The 17 sustainability goals of the United Nations were anchored as a yardstick for all measures in the government program. European and federal politics were defined as non-coalition spaces, “provided they don’t directly affect Carinthia,” explained Governor Peter Kaiser (SPÖ).
In addition, unanimity was agreed in the state government. The “coalition case” is also defined, which would result in an end to cooperation – for example, if MPs from the other party pass a resolution in the state parliament against the will of a partner. There are no side letters, emphasized Kaiser.
New location agency
According to the preamble to the government program, which is in German, Slovenian, Italian and English, after the recent crises the government wants to “resolutely take action again”. It begins with the chapter “location and economy“: Workers outside the country’s borders are to be acquired via a new location agency. In addition, Carinthia is to become the “most entrepreneur-friendly federal state”, which one wants to achieve with faster approval processes or the reduction of official “duplication”.
Hospital in Klagenfurt as a university clinic
In the chapter Health and care it says that the Klinikum Klagenfurt should be accredited as a university clinic, the burden on nursing staff and caring relatives should be relieved and the local nursing care should be expanded. The new government is also planning to harmonize procedures for social benefits: “It should be possible to apply for all applicable support at the same time with a single application.”
CO2-neutral administration and timber construction projects
In detail falls the point “Climate protection, energy, agriculture and regional development“. For example, there should be more wood construction projects in the public sector, the aim is also a “CO2-neutral state administration”. One remains rather vague with wind power (the expansion should take place “needs-based, economically sensible and ecologically justifiable”), more concrete In the case of photovoltaics, installation on roofs remains the priority, but at the same time systems on open spaces should also be permitted.
Broadband expansion and public transport
In the next five years, the infrastructure expansion be accelerated. Broadband expansion and the expansion of public transport are specifically mentioned, with a commitment to “drive neutrality”, i.e. against the combustion engine off. Transfer payments with cities and municipalities are to be “restructured step by step”. Digitization in a wide range of areas is intended to ensure unbureaucratic, lean and transparent administration, and a digitization strategy for the state administration is to be developed this year.
All-day schools are to be expanded
In the area Education and Research one wants to set an accent with a new technology park along the Koralmbahn route and the first focus will be the topic of sustainability and CO2 reduction in construction and related trades. Social work is to be expanded in the elementary and school sectors, all educational institutions are also to develop child protection concepts, the focus is on multilingualism and STEM subjects, and all-day school types are to be expanded.
More culture budget
On the subject Culture there is a commitment “to the gradual adjustment of the culture budget to the Austrian average”, as well as the plan to expand the Bachmannhaus in Klagenfurt into a museum. The state government wants the status quo to be maintained in the small, bilingual Carinthian district courts.
It will probably only become clear how the individual measures will be designed in concrete terms when the state budget for the current year is available. It was just as unclear on Wednesday which of the seven members of the government (five from the SPÖ, two from the ÖVP) would take over which department. However, this must be clarified by the constituent meeting of the state government on April 19 at the latest.
criticism from the opposition
The two opposition parties in the state parliament, FPÖ and Team Kärnten, have already raised criticism: As FPÖ leader Erwin Angerer said, SPÖ and ÖVP would “completely let the population down” if prices exploded. This was also criticized by Team Carinthia’s chairman, Gerhard Koefer, who also announced that the government would be controlled, but at the same time “involved in the political discourse with important ideas and suggestions”. The Greens, who had not made it into the state parliament, said in a broadcast that they “lacked the courage to actively use climate protection as an opportunity for a good and peaceful life”.
Source: Nachrichten
