The 28th legislative period of the Upper Austrian Landtag is drawing to a close, and elections will take place on September 26th. The second President of the State Parliament, Adalbert Cramer (FP) and the third President of the State Parliament, Gerda Weichsler-Hauer (SP), are no longer running. You were 12 and 26 years in the state parliament. On Thursday they appeared again with the First President of the State Parliament, Wolfgang Stanek (VP), to take stock.
The state parliament passed 160 laws in the past six years (123 of them unanimously), 14 more than in the previous period. In addition, there were 680 further resolutions (522 of them unanimously), 96 more than in the previous period. Of the other resolutions, 391 were resolutions of the rules of procedure, 172 resolutions (demands on the federal government) and 117 resolutions of the Court of Auditors.
Incidentally, the state government has passed 15,243 resolutions since 2015 (97 percent of them unanimously). In the period before that there were 17,131, but there are still sessions here until the state election.
He is convinced that “a high degree of personal responsibility on the part of federal states and regions is the decisive factor for success,” said Stanek with regard to federalism. Cramer said that Upper Austria had helped shape the EU several times: “Our statements have also led to amendments to draft laws.” Weichsler-Hauer said in view of the youth focus that politicians themselves “should become more active as ambassadors in matters of political education”.
When asked about demands from the Greens, among others, that proportional representation in Upper Austria should be abolished, Stanek said that this system was a “basic requirement for good, constructive cooperation” in the state. The federal government is currently the counterexample, where “hatred” also plays a role. Cramer questioned whether things are going better in the seven federal states without proportional representation or whether better politics are being made. “Proportion guarantees that you don’t run over others.” Weichsler-Hauer pointed out that stronger minority rights in the state parliament, such as inspection of files and budget service, were needed before anything else could be discussed.
