Political foul play?

Kick-off: Hot match over the state’s finances

In the state parliament chamber, the match for the double budget is heating up(Bild: Imre Antal)

Lower Austria is particularly fond of arguing about money at the moment. Starting on Wednesday in the government district of St. Pölten over the double budget for the years 2025/26.

In the role of defender: Provincial Councillor Ludwig Schleritzko together with his ÖVP team and the FPÖ squad on the bench. On the attack: the SPÖ in particular, which wants to show the figures the red card. "Captain" Sven Hergovich is using the debate as a political point of departure. "We are against the sale of the state-owned building society loans to financial sharks planned by Black-Blue."

(Bild: Krone Kreativ)

"Giving away 260 million"
The background: in order to cushion the budget deficit, the housing loans are to be sold on the financial market at a discount. "This means we are giving away 260 million euros," says Hergovich. The ÖVP countered that the transaction was necessary in order to secure the evaluation of the state's finances by rating agencies. If we were downgraded significantly, it would be much more expensive because we would have to pay more for loans. Will there also be political fouls in today's debate?