Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

POLITICS

Austrian government promises massive road and rail expansion amid coalition squabbles

Austrian chancellor Kurt Nehammer has promised €45 billion worth of road and rail improvements across the country as part of a major infrastructure package if his government is reelected - and criticised his own coalition partners for existing delays. 

Published: 23 July 2024 12:37 CEST
Austrian government promises massive road and rail expansion amid coalition squabbles
Austrian Chancellor promises a massive infrastructure boost of rail and roads if his government is re-elected. Photo: Hans / Pixabay

The plan foresees €21 billion would be spent on rail transport and €11.1 billion on the road network. Ten billion euros would be directed at the energy sector and €2.4 billion would be spent on promoting broadband expansion – especially in rural areas.

This, of course, depends firstly on the party being reelected in the federal elections this Autumn. 

The chancellor announced the plans and emphasised the need for continued improvements in the country’s transportation networks in a Monday press conference in Vienna. He was accompanied by Finance Minister Magnus Brunner – both of the conservative ÖVP. 

More roads planned

Roads were a particular focus of the press conference. 

A further 85 kilometres of roads would be built under Nehammer’s plan, including an extension to the S18 in Vorarlberg to ease congestion at the border with Switzerland.

The chancellor also specifically highlighted the Lobau tunnel, a proposed 8.2-kilometre tunnel that would form a bypass of the nation’s capital, as a project vital to Austria’s continued growth. 

This tunnel has been delayed repeatedly due to ongoing impact studies carried out by the Ministry of Transport, which is currently headed by Leonore Gewessler of the Green Party.

Expansion of rail 

The government has already approved much of the planned rail infrastructure improvements as part of plans announced in November 2023. 

Many projects involve double-tracking routes, as is the case with work along the country’s main east-west line. 

Further doubling of tracks, allowing more trains, will take place with lines connecting cities such as Graz with Slovenia and the Czech Republic. 

However, several projects have been delayed, such as the expansion of tracks to more fully service the country’s south in Carinthia. 

‘We must not block the future’

Parties such as the Greens were singled out as responsible for the delays in road and rail projects during Monday’s press conference. 

Nehammer identified the time spent assessing the impact of new infrastructure as a “delaying tactic that is no longer appropriate for the future“.

He added that it was an “illusion to believe that there will be no more commuters in the future” and “that is why the argument against the road is an argument against the future, against development, against Austria as a business location and against Austria as a place to work.”

“We must not block the future.”

‘Misunderstood the term street campaign’

The responses to Nehammer’s plans were rapid – potentially fueling the crisis within the coalition as it heads towards the polls. 

Transport Minister Gewessler was unaware of the contents of Nehammer’s press conference before Monday, and was quick to defend her record.

She stated: “We cannot continue as before if we want to protect the environment and the climate”, adding, “More roads also means being stuck in traffic jams on even more roads.

“I have changed this paradigm because we are building the infrastructure we need for the future.

“More and more people are taking the train, for example“, she pointed out.

Others saw the press conference as a cynical move prompted by electoral doubts. 

Douglas Hoyo, General Secretary of the liberal NEOS party was particularly biting: “The Chancellor has misunderstood the term street campaign, there is no other explanation for today’s press conference. 

“Instead of finally implementing Austria’s important and urgent reforms, Nehammer is making a plea for road construction and is once again presenting all sorts of government projects that he has not implemented in recent years.”

Sources within the far-right FPÖ told politics blog Fass ohne Boden: “Why are the federal states’ projects only being demanded now?” 

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

CULTURE

Right-wing ‘Schnitzel bonus’ rewards ‘traditional’ Austrian eateries

Staples of Austrian cooking such as schnitzel, roast pork lung and boiled beef have proved particularly vital for Gasthaus Stich, a restaurant in the village of Pfoesing, in rural Austria.

Published: 24 July 2024 10:06 CEST
Right-wing 'Schnitzel bonus' rewards 'traditional' Austrian eateries

They have helped the struggling business to survive by earning it a subsidy from right-wing state authorities in a controversial programme that benefits only traditional Austrian cuisine.

The subsidy for restaurants that serve regional and “traditional food” has been derided in the media and by opposition parties as a “Schnitzel bonus”.

It excludes restaurants serving less overtly authentic Austrian fare, such as kebabs or pizza, for example.

As a typical Austrian staple, schnitzel — a boneless piece of meat that has been pounded thin to make it more tender and then coated and fried — qualifies for the cash.

“They gave us €10,000,” or $ 11,000, said Michael Stich, the 39-year-old owner of the family business in Pfoesing, population 300, in the state of Lower Austria.

The village’s last surviving restaurant is an institution, “like the church, town hall or fire station”, he told AFP.

“If this place didn’t exist, it would be difficult for the entire community.”

Austria’s conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer has said he wants to defend the country’s “Leitkultur,” or “dominant culture”, as he seeks to bolster support ahead of September elections.

Campaigning on an anti-immigration platform, he has evoked the concept, born in Germany in the 1990s, as polls indicate the far right will come out on top for the first time in the Alpine nation.

‘Discriminatory’ 

Lower Austria — governed by the conservatives and the far right — introduced the “Schnitzel bonus” this year for owners who open a restaurant in a town without one or take over an existing one.

“The subsidy was very important for us,” said Michael Stich’s father, Hermann Stich, 62.

He continues to help out after his son became the third generation to run the business at the beginning of the year.

As he taps beer served over a large wooden counter, he notes the impact of energy and labour costs on the restaurant, which sports hunting antlers and a crucifix on the walls.

Since 2000, one in three restaurants in the state of Lower Austria, around Vienna, have closed, partly due to a rural exodus, with the coronavirus pandemic and resulting lockdown also taking their toll.

So far, 20 restaurants have received the bonus.

But critics have denounced the measure as discriminatory — an accusation rejected by the conservative People’s Party (OeVP) state parliament member Kurt Hackl.

“Village restaurants in Lower Austria are dying out, and we want to support them,” he said, calling them “special”.

Kitchen chef Eva Leimer poses with a plate of prepared Schnitzel meat at the inn ‘Gasthaus Stich’ in Pfoesing, Weinviertel, Lower Austria, north of Vienna, on July 2, 2024. (Photo by Alex HALADA / AFP)

‘Our values’ 

At Gasthaus Stich — which also features regional wines and seasonal dishes such as chanterelles with dumplings — clubs from the community regularly hold their meetings there, and guests play cards on wooden tables.

“In small communities, the tavern is the centre of social life. People celebrate, laugh and cry there together,” said Oliver Fritz at the Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO).

However, Fritz considers the €10,000 subsidy as just a “drop in the ocean”.

He also warns of possible “windfall effects” for restaurant owners who do not really require the support.

He also questioned why restaurants that offer pizza or kebabs should be excluded.

“The social function works even if it is an Italian restaurant,” he told AFP.

“If demand evolves and younger generations prefer to eat something else, then it’s better to adjust because countering a trend is extremely difficult,” he said.

Meanwhile, at the national level, Nehammer has tasked his integration minister with defining what “Leitkultur” means for the country of nine million people, which like the rest of the EU has seen an influx of migrants and asylum seekers.

Under his “plan for Austria” launched early this year, Nehammer said that “Anyone who wants to live permanently in Austria must represent our values, accept our culture and adapt to our way of life”.

SHOW COMMENTS