Austria’s new government: Nehemiah’s difficult start

Austrian President Neymar began with a burden: his predecessor Kurz is still in the media and can expect more negative headlines in the new year. What does that mean for Nehemiah?

At the end of the year, Sebastian Kurs again drew attention – in the annual reviews of the Austrian media. One day before the New Year, it becomes clear where and what the former president will soon earn his money. Kurz will serve in the United States from the quarter of 2022 as a “global strategist” in the company of billionaire Peter Thiel. Wealthy investor and Trump friend is one of the founders of the online payment service PayPal.

After all, Kurz is more likely to make a substantial amount of money in his new job than he is as federal president. According to him, the chapter on Austria seems to be closed. It is rare for anyone to shed tears after him. One commentator wrote: “Sebastian Kurz did what he could for Austria for ten years. Not much.”

New Top Man, New Style

Since Kurz’s retirement, Carl Nehmmer has been leader of the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) and federal president. The former interior minister introduces a new style for the introduction. He is ready for bonding and conversation. He also involves the opposition in the fight against the epidemic. There are also joint press conferences with the opposition.

If you look at the style of the chair, it is a 180 degree U-turn. The newcomer above wants to talk to vaccine opponents and corona deniers. After all, you are a community.

VVP bids farewell to the Kurz organization

Regime change within the People’s Party also means system change. The Kurz system has its day with its pullers and “news control” organizers, i.e. precise control of the news to the public. Claudia Blackom, 27, has been installed at the Federal Chancellor’s and control centers of the VP as a new general secretary, a new cabinet minister and a political signal to young voters, as secretary of state for youth affairs. Party Headquarters.

The governors of the provinces have regained considerable influence, in comparison with the German prime ministers. The position and dignity of the new Home Minister and the new Minister of Education came because the princes wanted that.

Viewers already see the return of the old, black ÖVP, but insist that it is only possible if the ÖVP is modern. Meaning: The ÖVP wants to continue the Turquoise movement as the “New People’s Party”, since 2017 Kurz transformed the traditional but politically moderately successful People’s Party.

New revelations and current investigations

And 2022 is unlikely to be an easy year for VP. For one, corruption lawyer investigations continue to allege fraud and misuse of taxpayers’ money. On March 2, the ÖVP Corruption Investigation Commission began its work. Often disguised as advertisements in small newspapers about the question of whether surveys and well-meaning statements were purchased with taxpayers’ money.

It is about payments between ministries and institutions. If there is a suspicion of tax involvement by the companies involved, it is about institutional donations to the ÖVP. A few days before Christmas a new bomb exploded. From the chats received by the public prosecutor’s office, due to the support of the former ÖVP finance minister and top ÖVP official, a large investor did not have to pay a penalty interest of 90 690,000 on late taxes.

Top officials of the ÖVP responded to the new revelations by promising to fully support the investigation. The new finance minister promises transparency. The Chancellor says the events are unacceptable, but that the ÖVP is not corrupt.

The new Chancellor has not yet changed course

In opinion polls, things are not going well for the ÖVP at the moment. The Kurz scandal, an ongoing investigation by corruption lawyers into former top politicians, but also against the ÖVP, weighed in on the president’s resumption. In polls, ÖVP is on par with or behind SP. Most recently, the ratio ranged from 24 percent ÖVP to 26 percent SPÖ.

Even the new president, Nehemiah, has not yet pulled the party to the top. If directly elected by the federal president, Nehmar would receive only 19 to 21 percent of the vote. In a survey of the level of trust that Austrians have in their politicians, the new president recorded a huge increase in everyone’s confidence by an additional 15 percent.

VP should be afraid of new elections

If new elections take place in 2022, the ÖVP will have to calculate the painful losses. Another sign: In Tyrol, the ancestral home of the Conservatives, the ÖVP currently holds only 32 percent of state elections. On the other hand, the young vaccine opposition party MFG (People – Freedom – Fundamental Rights) or the right-wing Conservative FPÖ may benefit.

Since these opportunities are not very attractive to the ÖVP coalition partner, the Greens, the SPÖ and the liberal-conservative NEOS are unlikely to hold new federal elections soon. With a regular election date of 2024, the new president and ÖVP boss will have more time to convince voters of his new style.