The government has failed to reach an agreement with the coalition concerning a reform of Austria’s party subsidisation system. Representatives of the government coalition of Social Democrats (SPÖ) and the conservative People’s Party (ÖVP) held talks with Green Party members, Freedom Party (FPÖ) officials and members of the Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) […]
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 […]
Austria’s longest-serving governor has been identified as the most capable one in the opinion of citizens. A study published by magazine profil shows that 20 per cent of Austrians consider Erwin Pröll, the provincial governor of Lower Austria, as the best of all nine governors. The conservative politician became governor of Austria’s largest province 20 […]
Army pays 2,000 staff for being idle
Categories
The pressure on Social Democratic (SPÖ) Defence and Sport Minister Norbert Darabos is increasing as a new Audit Office (RH) examination indicates a waste of taxpayers’ money by the army. The RH announced yesterday (Tues) that 2,059 army employees were inactive in 2010. The institution said that these circumstances cost the state 66.1 million Euros […]
Norbert Darabos has refused to apologise after attacking Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. The Austrian Social Democratic (SPÖ) defence minister told Die Presse on Sunday that Lieberman was an “unbearable” member of the Israeli government to him. Darabos criticised the nationalist politician for refusing to rule out an Israeli attack against Iran due to the […]
Vienna road toll on the agenda again
Categories
The Vienna Greens are risking a coalition-internal conflict by calling for a city toll. Rüdiger Maresch, the leftist party’s traffic spokesman, said such a fee “is unavoidable on the long term”. Maresch underlined the city government’s ambition to slash fine dust levels, the volume of toxic emissions by cars and noise caused by traffic in […]
Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) Finance Minister Maria Fekter has launched an attack on the new French president. The former interior minister branded Francois Hollande’s targets as “nonsense”. Speaking to the Oberösterreichische Nachrichten newspaper, Fekter said ambitions to add aspects guaranteeing economic growth in struggling countries to the planned European Union (EU) fiscal pact were outdated. […]
Mikl-Leitner fends off Prammer attack
Categories
People’s Party (ÖVP) Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner has defended the plan to finalise the talks for the government’s transparency package this year. Mikl-Leitner underlined today (Fri) that the various planned draft bills would come into force only next year anyway. She promised that her cabinet and the team of negotiators assigned by the Social Democrats […]
BZÖ ends Stronach speculations
Categories
The Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) has finally dismissed the circulating rumours about teaming up with a billionaire businessman. The party, which sensationally won almost 11 per cent in the national election of 2008, could drop out of parliament in next year’s ballot. Only two per cent of Austrians plan to support the […]
Austrian Vice Chancellor Michael Spindelegger has promised that the European Union (EU) will not let Greece down. The head of the People’s Party (ÖVP) said there was no alternative to helping Greece in its current situation. The member state of the EU and the Eurozone is in a serious political crisis after the leaders of […]