Kaiser promotes red-black in the federal government

He told Ö1 on Tuesday that this former “grand coalition” would be “good for Austria”. Burgenland Governor Hans Peter Doskozil has nothing to gain. Tyrol’s SPÖ boss, deputy governor Georg Dornauer, sees “a stable two-party coalition with the ÖVP” as the goal, Vienna’s SPÖ mayor Michael Ludwig finds Kaiser’s argument “conclusive”.

Carinthia as a role model

“If you want to achieve something and have the necessary majorities for it, then you will have to compromise,” Kaiser is optimistic that cooperation between the SPÖ and ÖVP could succeed. Carinthia, where red and black have ruled together for eleven years, could serve as a model for this. Kaiser showed in a media appearance with the Tyrolean governor that there are also supporters of a renaissance of the long-serving coalition Anton Mattle (ÖVP) in December and before that with his Styrian ÖVP counterpart Christopher Drexler.

Your two parties “together shaped the history of the Second Republic,” Kaiser told Ö1. For the political scientist Kathrin Stainer-Hämmerle, Kaiser and Mattle have “nothing to lose” with appearances like the one in December or statements like the one on Tuesday, as there is little exchange of voters between the parties. On the contrary: “The state governors have always given federal policy something in the background. I actually don’t think it’s a bad thing to have these discussions not just internally, but transparently.”

“Not the time to be tactical”

Burgenland’s governor Hans Peter Doskozil (SPÖ), however, currently has little to gain from the proposal for an SPÖ-ÖVP coalition. From his point of view, it is not time to tactic and divide functions. “The goal of social democracy must be to win the election,” emphasized Doskozil on the sidelines of a press conference on Tuesday. After that you can continue watching. In any case, the SPÖ should not serve as a mere stirrup supporter for the ÖVP.

Looks more benevolent Ludwig towards such a coalition. After all, SPÖ-ÖVP governments helped build the Second Republic over decades, he said at a press conference. The fact that these are two very different parties sometimes makes it difficult to work together, but the coalition would represent different groups in the population. The SPÖ has always ruled out a coalition with the FPÖ, and Ludwig, who works with the NEOS in Vienna, does not support further exclusions of parties.

“New life for a successful model”

Tyrol’s deputy state governor Dornauer also stated that both the ÖVP and SPÖ had taken responsibility for Austria in the past and “significantly shaped this country and our democracy.” “It’s time to breathe new life into this successful model. Only a sensible policy from the center can bring the edges where they belong: into unity,” said Tyrol’s SPÖ chairman.

Whether the “spectre” Herbert Kickl (FPÖ) as a common opponent can bring the old parties closer together, the election campaign will show, said the political scientist Kathrin Stainer-Hämmerle. Both Mattle and Kaiser would benefit from their “honesty.” “Both did what they said before (state elections in Carinthia and Tyrol, note),” said Stainer-Hämmerle. “I think it’s very honest to say beforehand what you prefer (…), the damage to the credibility of Wilfried Haslauer or Johanna Mikl-Leitner is much greater.” The ÖVP state governors in Salzburg and Lower Austria ultimately surprisingly entered into coalitions with the FPÖ.

Two-party coalition without FPÖ “difficult”

According to Kaiser, arguments are most violent “when you have different constellations, one party is in government and the other is in opposition.” A return to cooperation between the old parties at the federal level is probably the only way to prevent the FPÖ from participating in government, although, according to the latest surveys, a third partner would probably be needed. “From today’s perspective, without the FPÖ, a two-party coalition is difficult or impossible,” said Stainer-Hämmerle.

“The third will definitely have to go”

In terms of content, the overlap between the FPÖ and ÖVP is “very high”, but the people involved are much more important when forming a government. Virtually all of the ÖVP ministers who have been asked about this have so far ruled out a coalition with the “Kickl-FPÖ”, and many business people are also skeptical about working with the Freedom Party because they are afraid of damage to their international image, said Stainer-Hämmerle. The expert is convinced that after the next National Council election at least one of the two major parties will have a different boss. “The third will definitely have to go. His political career is over.” The government negotiations will stand or fall with the negotiating skills of the actors. Kaiser also emphasized on Tuesday that he was for red and black, “but not at any price.”

The outstretched hand towards the ÖVP is “a pragmatic approach,” says the party leader Andreas Babler but the possibility of “demonizing” them, says Stainer-Hämmerle. The ÖVP is also an “enemy” for some Reds, and a government without their participation “satisfies” many Social Democrats, said Stainer-Hämmerle.

Against Gusenbauer’s exclusion from the party

Also on the debate about the ex-party leader Alfred Gusenbauer said Kaiser. Section 8 has requested that the ex-chancellor be excluded from the party, Kaiser is against the exclusion. Gusenbauer would not have done anything harmful to the party and would not have violated the statutes. You have to stick to that.

It wasn’t just for this that he received criticism from the FPÖ General Secretary Michael Schnedlitz. The fact that Kaiser continues to build a wall for the “Signa profiteer” suggests that the ÖVP and SPÖ are coming closer. “There is no sense of guilt whatsoever when it comes to cronyism and abuse of power.” Schnedlitz mockingly recommended that the two former major parties run on a joint list: “The SPÖ could play to its core competence here and use Excel to create a gender-equitable zip system for the joint list of candidates. (…) A symbiosis between these two parties would perhaps be the last chance .”

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