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Austrian chancellor leaves to visit Ukraine

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer on Friday left to travel to Kyiv, according to his office, one of the first EU leaders to visit Ukraine after images of corpses in the town of Bucha came to light.

Published: 8 April 2022 19:06 CEST
Austrian chancellor Karl Nehammer walks past an Austrian flag wearing a mask. Photo: JOE KLAMAR / AFP
Austrian chancellor Karl Nehammer walks past an Austrian flag wearing a mask. Photo: JOE KLAMAR / AFP

“Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer left this evening for his visit to Ukraine,” the chancellory said in a statement.

Nehammer indicated earlier in the week he would visit Ukraine.

READ MORE: Austria’s Nehammer to visit Zelensky in Ukraine

Nehammer’s visit comes as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Bucha on Friday on a trip to Ukraine along with the bloc’s diplomatic chief Josep Borrell.

Nehammer is expected to travel to Bucha, near Kyiv, on Saturday, according to a statement from his office.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russian troops of being behind the killings in the town, but the Kremlin has denied any responsibility and suggested images of corpses were “fakes”.

“Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer left this evening for his visit to Ukraine with a delegation and media representatives,” the chancellory said.

Besides visiting Bucha, Nehammer is planning to meet Zelensky followed by a press conference and a meeting with Prime Minister Denys Shmygal on Saturday.

He is also planning to meet Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko before returning later Saturday.

“It is important that, within the framework of our neutrality, we support Ukraine on both a humanitarian and a political level,” Nehammer said in a statement.

“What is happening in Ukraine, and in particular in many cities of Ukraine, is a terrible war of aggression against the civilian population,” he said.

He said that independent and international experts should get to the bottom of “the war crimes that have come to light”.

“Those responsible for these crimes must and will be held accountable,” he said. Violence in the town of Bucha, where authorities say hundreds were killed — including some found with their hands bound — has become a byword for allegations of brutality inflicted under Russian occupation.

The Czech, Polish and Slovenian prime ministers visited Kyiv on March 15, before Russian troops withdrew from around the capital, in the first trip by European Union leaders since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24.

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AUSTRIAN HABITS

What issues do Austrians care about the most?

It is election year, and a new survey reveals which topics Austrians care about the most. Here we tell you what lies closest to their hearts and what does not.

Published: 15 May 2024 12:39 CEST
What issues do Austrians care about the most?

On October 23rd, Austria’s will hold its parliamentary elections for the National Council. This election determines the 183 members of the National Council, which is the primary legislative body in the country.

The election to the National Council takes place every five years and it is the country’s most important election. Austrian citizens who are at least 16 years old on election day are entitled to vote.

With the upcoming election in mind, a recent survey conducted by Linz-based Market Institute on behalf of Der Standard, revealed which topics eligible voters in Austria consider the most important, and what actions they are willing to take to see changes taking place.

Better healthcare is top priority

The survey showed that Austrians prioritise improvements in the healthcare system the most. Around 82 percent believe that improving the healthcare system was an important political concern. This belief remains consistent across different age groups and political beliefs. However, the level of interest in healthcare improvements tends to increase with age. 

Concerns surrounding the state of the ountry’s healthcare system have mounted in recent years. Austria is currently dealing with a serious staff shortage in the healthcare sector, meaning fewer available medical staff for patients. Additionally, the system faces new challenges arising from changes in doctors preferences and the limited number of contracts for practices with public healthcare funds. Many doctors prefer to work as private sector doctors, known as “Wahlarzt” in German, rather than having contracts with insurance-funded practices, where the doctors are referred to as “Alle Kassenarzt” in German.

In addition to healthcare, Austrians also prioritise a better education system (78 percent), fighting corruption (76 percent), fighting high prices and inflation (75 percent), maintaining neutrality (72 percent), reducing energy costs (70 percent), and better paid jobs (67 percent). Legalising cannabis ranks lowest in importance among respondents, with only 19 percent in favour.

But even if voters highlighted these issues as important, many revealed. they did not want to get involved politically themselves to make things better. Only about 35 percent of those who want to improve healthcare are ready to join efforts such as demonstrating, collecting signatures, or networking with others to make changes happen.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: How the Austrian healthcare system works

Niche topics create more motivation for mobilisation

The survey showed the level of public engagement varied depending on the issue.

From the subjects mentioned above, only two – neutrality and energy costs, have the potential to persuade people to get involved in politics. Since those are niched topics they have potential to garner greater public support and engagement.

David Pfarrhofer, political researcher at Market Institute, suggested that niche topics often mobilise members of the public more than broader issues due to their specific focus and great relevance to smaller groups of people.

Political views influence opinions

Political party connections affect how Austrians view different social issues. While many supporters from different parties agree on protesting against right-wing extremism and supporting rights to free abortion, opinions on other matters such as reducing working hours, improving the military, climate change activism and immigration differ a lot among different political groups.

For example, while half of The Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) and a third of the The Green Party voters (Die Grünen) like the idea of working less, it is not popular among supporters of other parties, especially among those who support the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP).

Another example is that two-thirds of respondents believe that protests against discrimination against women are justified. However, supporters of ÖVP and The Freedom Party (FPÖ) agree less with this statement than the other parties. “This is probably because many of them no longer consider such a disadvantage to exist,” says Pfarrhofer.

When it comes to protests against immigration, 84 percent of FPÖ supporters view protests against immigration as justified, meanwhile 52 percent of The Green Party supporters and 40 percent of SPÖ supporters reject such protests.

READ MORE: Healthcare in Austria: Why are there fewer ‘public’ doctors?

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