Goes new ways

Minister Polaschek retires from politics

Martin Polaschek retires from politics.(Bild: krone.tv)

The next ÖVP top politician is throwing in the towel: Education Minister Martin Polaschek announced on Thursday that he would be retiring from politics. As the newspaper "Krone" has learned, Polaschek has stipulated a right of return in his contract with the University of Graz, where he worked as an associate professor.

For the time being, Polaschek, who had already ruled out a ministerial office in a coalition with the FPÖ before the National Council elections at the end of September, will take a break. On Tuesday, for example, he was a guest at the reception hosted by the President of the Association of Municipalities, Johannes Pressl, in St. Pölten.

Polaschek succeeded Faßmann in 2021
Polaschek succeeded Heinz Faßmann as Minister of Education in December 2021 and was thus at the helm of the ministry on Minoritenplatz for more than three years. Prior to this, the legal historian was first Vice Rector and then Rector of the University of Graz and, for many years, Head of the University Conference's Teaching Forum. In this role, he played a leading role in the reform of teacher training around ten years ago, including the introduction of the Bachelor/Master system - as Minister, he was most recently responsible for its revision.

During his time in office, the 59-year-old Styrian also put lateral entry for teaching staff on a new footing. Among other things, a certification process was introduced - due to the shortage of teachers, Polaschek actively recruited academics from relevant professional fields who wanted to switch to the classroom with his "Klasse Job" initiative. Support staff for teachers were also increasingly recruited during his time in office.

Martin Polaschek retires from politics.(Bild: krone.tv)

In the field of science, he focused on initiatives to combat scientific skepticism and secured the university budget for the years 2025 to 2027 with an increase of around 30 percent. In the previous years, he had conversely caused some resentment among his former rector colleagues when the university budget was not adjusted accordingly despite rising inflation.

Departures of Raab and Schallenberg
It was only on Tuesday that Integration and Women's Affairs Minister Susanne Raab announced that she too would be taking a new path. Prior to this, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, who is temporarily taking over the office of interim chancellor, had already announced that he would no longer be available in a government under FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl.

Edtstadler becomes governor of Salzburg
Karoline Edtstadler's departure has also been clear for weeks. As announced from Salzburg on Thursday, she will take over from Wilfried Haslauer in the summer and become the new governor of the province.

It has been clear for some time that former Finance Minister Magnus Brunner will be moving to Brussels. He was confirmed as EU Commissioner at the beginning of November.