Meeting at Lake Traunsee

The wish list of the heads of state is already full

The heads of the provinces are calling for easier loans for house builders.(Bild: Scharinger Daniel)

At their conference at Lake Traunsee, the heads of the provinces have numerous wishes for the next government. Salzburg is preparing to chair the committee.

During the domestic political aftermath of the Styrian election and the coalition negotiations, the provincial governors are currently meeting for their conference at Lake Traunsee in Upper Austria. Salzburg will then take over the chairmanship of the Governors' Conference at the turn of the year.

Even before the current meeting in Traunkirchen, Governor Wilfried Haslauer (ÖVP) has been in close consultation with his Upper Austrian counterpart Thomas Stelzer. At a press conference this afternoon, the heads of the provinces will send a whole bouquet of wishes to the coalition negotiators in Vienna. The provinces are primarily concerned with financial issues, above all fiscal equalization. Falling tax revenues are also hitting the federal states hard. Another topic will be the rising energy prices at the turn of the year. The heads of the federal states want the federal government to extend the financial aid for electricity customers.

Credit guidelines should be eased for the purchase of residential property and house building. To this end, the heads of the federal states are calling for the KIM regulation to be relaxed. Haslauer also wants to address projects such as "community nurses". Projects such as this were launched thanks to EU funding or funding from the federal government. Haslauer complains that if the projects are well received and are intended to go into regular operation, the funding often remains with the federal states. Talks about future, permanent financing are needed here.