Meet The Parties: People's Party
Austria's People's Party answers questions on the economy, healthcare, foreign policy, and whether they would go into coalition with the far-right Freedom Party
With this edition, ahead of the election on September 29, you are receiving the third in a series of Q&As with Austria’s leading political parties called “Meet The Parties.” The aim of the series is to help voters make more informed decisions and all readers gain a better understanding of where the parties stand on the economy, healthcare, and foreign policy. The series continues with the center-right People’s Party led by chancellor Karl Nehammer.
What does the ÖVP stand for? What are your party’s three primary values?
Three issues are of particular importance to us: service, family, and security.
Over the course of the past five years, Austria has lived through multiple crises of government, the former chancellor has been found guilty of perjury in the first instance, and the ÖVP has found itself mired in corruption scandals. Why should voters trust your party right now?
Over the past five years, Austria has undoubtedly experienced challenging times, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis, and inflation, as well as several parliamentary investigative committees that looked at many accusations that ultimately turned out to be unfounded. Despite these difficult conditions, we’ve managed to achieve a lot for Austria. In addition to overcoming these crises, under chancellor Karl Nehammer, we have enacted many forward-looking policies, such as the ‘eco-social’ tax reform package and the abolition of bracket creep1. The People’s Party are the strong force in the center of the political debate that puts unity above division and is committed to working towards a good and secure future for Austria.
Would you go into coalition with the Freedom Party?
We are constantly asked about possible coalition arrangements—especially with the election date approaching—but we won’t be participating in such speculation. We’re standing in this election on our policies and goals, not specific coalition variants. The past few years have clearly shown one thing, however: Cooperation with Herbert Kickl2 simply isn’t possible.
Austria is in a state of economic malaise. What measures would you take to kickstart the economy?
We have many innovative companies in Austria that are often global market leaders in their sectors. Our companies deserve conditions that will enable them to compete internationally. We will continue to protect Austrian companies and will not allow Austria’s status as a place to do business to be jeopardized by new taxes. After a legislative period characterized by multiple international crises, business policy must be the focus of the next legislative period. Greater economic freedom requires financial relief and less bureaucracy. Entrepreneurs should be able to act freely without being held back by excessive regulation.
How would you resolve the problems in the healthcare system including personnel shortages and longer wait times?
Chancellor Nehammer outlined a number of measures in this regard in his Austria Plan. First, we want to hire more doctors. The first 100 job postings have already been put out to tender. We also want to create more primary care centers and expand tele-medicine services, thus relieving the burden on onsite medical staff. Our aim is to noticeably reduce waiting times for operations. At the same time, we want to secure the future of the care sector through the targeted recruitment of specialized staff. We will recruit qualified staff from abroad and make the nursing profession a more attractive option for the domestic labor market. We have also recently introduced apprenticeship program for nursing.
With Russia’s war against Ukraine in mind, does Austria need a new security doctrine? Should it surrender its neutrality and join NATO?
Our neutrality is a cornerstone of our constitution and national identity. It arose out of our history and today forms a core component of how our state and society are structured. The People’s Party maintains a clear commitment to Austria’s permanent neutrality. Austria was, is, and will continue to be neutral.
Should Austria’s ban on dual citizenship be repealed?
Austria has clear criteria for retaining other citizenships. These rules are important to preserve the significance and value of Austrian citizenship. We see no reason to change the current legal situation.
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Before the abolition of ‘bracket creep,’ tax brackets remained frozen even as people’s salaries rose with inflation, causing their income tax contributions to creep upward year-on-year. This is no longer the case
Leader of the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ)