After the combustion summit

SPÖ rebel faxes ÖVP headquarters criticism of e-fuels

(Bild: zVg, krone.at)

Of all things, SPÖ rebel Nikolaus Kowall quotes from a government document to address his criticism of e-fuels to the People's Party after the combustion summit. The whole thing was sent by fax to the ÖVP headquarters - an allusion to the statement by Economics Minister Martin Kocher that nobody would think of banning "faxes, telephone boxes or horse-drawn carriages". 

In the long-distance copy, a graphic from the federal government's hydrogen strategy is the central argument. According to Kowall, hydrogen is only efficient "where batteries are not used". This excludes the industry with large combustion engines in shipping and aviation.

But: "The use of e-fuels for passenger cars is classified as completely inefficient and by no means a priority. Here is the graphic from your own government document," Kowall explains, not without malicious glee.

SPÖ rebel Nikolaus Kowall with the fax(Bild: zVg, krone.at)

ÖVP should listen to "corporate bosses"
The SPÖ politician goes on to explain his understanding for a party that acts "conservatively and populistically" to fight against change. For the SPÖ rebel, however, an economic party should also listen to "economists" and "corporate bosses" as well as "experts": "The time of the combustion engine is over ..."

Here you can see the fax confirmation - the letter was sent to the ÖVP headquarters in Vienna.(Bild: zVg, krone.at)

"If the ÖVP has a sense of humor, it will fax something back"
Otherwise innovation threatens to take place elsewhere and "jobs in the Austrian vehicle industry cannot be retained". You can read the full text of the fax below:

The ÖVP has yet to respond to the critical letter. Kowall comments: "If the ÖVP has a sense of humor, it will fax something back."