Last podcast

Nehammer emotional: “It was an honor for me”

The outgoing Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP)(Bild: Wolfgang Spekner)

The outgoing chancellor and ÖVP leader was very emotional in his last podcast and confirmed criticism from the NEOS. "With Babler, it was clear that he was not willing to compromise."

Karl Nehammer says goodbye to top politics. The ÖVP politician wrote one last podcast on the subject - it turned out to be an emotional piece. He can't exactly describe his emotional state, he says. "I did everything with great passion. And I'm sorry for how it turned out. I've been associated with the People's Party since I was 14 and was committed. It was incredibly honorable and emotional to say goodbye now."

Nehammer also declared that he would no longer make any public comments in future. "That's dispensable and I don't want to become a balcony muppet."

You can watch Nehammer's podcast here.

However, he describes his last hours in top politics once again. What caused the negotiations to fail? "We made good progress. But the process was bumpy. Because of different ideologies. I can understand the NEOS up to a certain point." The positions of SPÖ leader Andreas Babler were often incomprehensible. "With Babler, it was clear that he was not willing to compromise." The SPÖ then led to a revival of class warfare, including gift and inheritance taxes and other hostilities towards investment.

The ÖVP had wanted to set framework conditions to strengthen the competitiveness of the location. "I'm just glad that I had witnesses in all these talks that the Social Democrats would not go along with this."

The process was bumpy. Because of different ideologies. I can understand the NEOS up to a point.

Nehammer blickt auf die Verhandlungen zurück.

The advisors and whisperers around Andreas Babler were ultimately responsible for the failure. If the sensible group of Reds had been sitting opposite him, everything would have been wrapped up long ago - including with the NEOS. Discipline was needed in negotiations. Then an appointment had been made on Friday evening, only the Social Democrats had not shown up. He himself, Nehammer, had received full support from his party.

As a parting shot, Nehammer says: "It was an honor." The podcast can be listened to on all the usual platforms, such as Spotify.