Promised, broken

What remains of the blue-black election programs

ÖVP General Christian Stocker and FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl presented an austerity package that does not match their election promises everywhere.(Bild: HELMUT FOHRINGER / APA / picturedesk.com)

"Relieve the burden on car drivers and commuters" and "With us, there will be no new mass taxes". Who said it? That's right: various high-ranking representatives of the soon-to-be blue-black coalition. Not just once and not so long ago. Now that the negotiations have begun and the pressure to make savings is on, things look different. A comparison of the austerity package and election programs shows just how much ...

"No new taxes" was the motto of the FPÖ and ÖVP during the election campaign - in the end, the Black Party's insistence on this even led to the break-up of the Zuckerl coalition. Before the election, the Blue Party promised between 15 and 20 billion euros in tax relief for citizens, while the ÖVP promised twelve to 15 billion. 

And after the election? An austerity package worth over six billion euros is on the table, around 70 percent of which will be paid for by the broad mass of Austrians - is all this possible without breaking the promises made during the election campaign? No, as a detailed look at the page-long election programs of the coalition partners shows.