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26. 10. 09. - 15:00

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26. 10. 09. - 15:00

Government ignores people's worries and future topics, opposition claims

By Thomas Hochwarter

The opposition has launched a stinging attack on the government as Austria celebrates National Day today (Mon).

Heinz-Christian Strache, head of the right-wing Freedom Party (FPÖ) accused the Social Democrats (SPÖ) and People’s Party (ÖVP) of not taking the worries of Austrians seriously, while Greens leader Eva Glawischnig claimed the coalition had "failed" at "future subjects" such as education and labelled the government’s reaction to the credit crunch "reckless".

Strache stressed the importance of Austria’s neutrality.

He said: "Neutrality has done great service to our country for half a century and must not be sacrificed at the altar of Brussels’ centralism."

He attacked the other parties for "only using empty phrases" when it came to stressing the importance of the neutrality which Austria gained when the "Staatsvertrag" treaty was signed in 1955 after ten years of occupation by Allied Troops.

Strache claimed SPÖ and ÖVP were only interested in securing their privileges instead of working on creating Austria’s future.

"One example is the ridiculous discussion over who becomes Austria’s next EU Commissioner which has embarrassed Austria," he said.

Strache said the government’s handling of immigration and interior security policies would "prove they do not care about people’s worries."

Greens head Glawischnig called on the government to look into the future.

"The economic crisis has left the potential of a social and a climate crisis. Austria’s answers are ‘fire-extinguishing reactions’. No sustainable, future-orientated measures have taken place. This is reckless," she said.

Federal President Heinz Fischer meanwhile appealed in his traditional National Day speech to continue the fight against unemployment and the "bad developments that led to the economic crisis".

Fischer was expected to reveal whether he would run for a second term in office in his speech which will be broadcast live on prime-time TV tonight. But the former SPÖ MP failed to do so. He said: "I don’t think National Day should be made use of for announcing personal decisions. I think the coming month of November will be the best time to make things clear."

Fischer, who has been in office since 2004, is regarded as clear favourite by opinion-research agencies if he decides to run for a second term.

Pollsters had said only Lower Austrian ÖVP Governor Erwin Pröll could challenge the 71-year-old for the post.

But Pröll recently ruled out he would campaign, arguing he could not leave Lower Austrians in the middle of an economic crisis. Pröll, however, added he thought about running for president and admitted the opportunity to do so was "enticing".

He also said he was in strong favour of the ÖVP nominating a candidate. Several senior ÖVP politicians agree with Pröll, while others oppose his point of view.

Tyrolean Governor Günther Platter said on Sunday he disagreed with Pröll. Platter – a former federal Interior Minister – said it would make more sense to focus on upcoming challenges than running an expensive campaign.

Apart from Pröll, Economy Chamber (WKO) head Christoph Leitl, Pensioners’ Union head Andreas Khol and former Styrian ÖVP Governor Waltraud Klasnic all recently dismissed speculation they were considering running for the presidency.

In his National Day speech, Fischer called for a continued focus on supporting developments on the labour market. "We have to continue fighting unemployment and give people a perspective. Especially young people should not be left alone."

Fischer said those in charge needed to draw conclusions from developments that led to the credit crunch.

"I am talking about risky speculations, little sense of responsibility, few checks of the general system and excessive bonus payouts. All of these factors have had their share in bad developments leading to the crisis. Conclusions need to be drawn now," Fischer stressed.

Austrian Times

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