Referendum in Vienna terminated

Categories
Politics

Offices for the Vienna Referendum 2013 closed last Saturday. The preliminary voter turnout is 29,44 percent. The result will be announced tomorrow (Tues). The published figure of the voter turnout consists of ballot papers sent by post as well as those that were handed in personally, said the responsible town councillor Sandra Frauenberger (SPÖ) in […]

Gerald Klug becomes new defence minister

Categories
Politics

The current defence minister Norbert Darabos will go back to the headquarters of the Social democratic party (SPÖ). His successor will be Gerald Klug who has been chairman of the SPÖ in the Austrian Federal Council. Gerald Klug was born in 1968 in Graz (South-Eastern Austria). He completed an apprenticeship in metalworking and started working […]

Victory for the SPÖ in Carinthia

Categories
Politics

The Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) won the regional elections in Carinthia (Southern Austria) yesterday (Sun), achieving 37.1%. The Freedom Party of Carinthia (FPK) lost most of the votes (-27.8%). The ÖVP, on third place (14.2%), was followed by the Green Party (11.8%). 440,748 Carinthians were entitled to vote, of which 71.4 percent actually voted. The […]

Parking stickers rejected in Vienna-Hietzing

Categories
Politics

The parking sticker was rejected in a poll of residents in Vienna-Hietzing. Around a quarter of residents oppose an introduction of a parking sticker. 59% of 41,000 persons who are entitled to vote took part in the poll. 18,618 people voted against and 5,113 people voted in favour of the parking sticker. 41,000 questionnaires were […]

Mud fight continues in Salzburg

Categories
Politics

A bitter row between the conservative People’s party ÖVP and the social Democrats SPÖ in the regional parliament in Salzburg is continuing to interrupts the smooth running of government. The row centres about responsibility for the investment of taxpayers money in risky financial investments and the possible loss of several hundred million euros. In advance […]

Greece can survive, says Schieder

Categories
Politics

Social Democratic (SPÖ) Finance Secretary Andreas Schieder has claimed that Greece has the chance to rebuild its economy. Speaking to magazine profil, Schieder warned from speculating about the costs of a Greek Eurozone exit. He said it attempt of trying to evaluate the costs of such a scenario were “not serious”. The Social Democrat said […]

TV tax increase ahead

Categories
Business

TV consumers in Austria must pay higher taxes from Friday. The ORF licence fee increases by seven per cent as of 1 June. The rise was agreed on last November when ORF general director Alexander Wrabetz justified it as “moderate”. Political decision-makers and telecommunications regulation authority KommAustria gave the go-ahead to the disputed tax hike. […]

Political financing could be reformed

Categories
Politics

The government is one step closer to passing a new party subsidisation law. Social Democratic (SPÖ) Media Secretary Josef Ostermayer – who represents his party in the talks with the opposition – expressed confidence regarding presenting the amendment in parliament in around two weeks’ time. SPÖ Chancellor Werner Faymann recently underlined that he wanted the […]

Coalition accelerates anti-corruption ambitions

Categories
Politics

The government is intensifying its attempts to pass a transparency package in parliament. The Social Democrats (SPÖ) and their coalition partner, the conservative People’s Party (ÖVP), arranged meetings with representatives of the parliament’s three opposition factions to debate details about the planned amendment. The law is set to create stricter rules regarding the subsidisation of […]

IV demands focus on industry in crisis

Categories
Business

The general secretary of the Federation of Austrian Industries (IV) has appealed on Europe’s political leaders to strengthen the continent’s industry. Christoph Neumayer told the Kurier that the European Union (EU) should concentrate on creating ideal circumstances for its industrial sector. Neumayer claimed such a strategy would help in getting through the economic crisis. The […]