Too many applications

Styrian SPÖ leader wants an upper asylum limit

Styrian SPÖ leader Max Lercher does not want to go back to business as usual after the attack in Villach.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Christian Jauschowetz, Reuters/Borut Zivulovic)

The chairman of the Styrian Red Party, Max Lercher, does not want to go back to business as usual after the terrorist attack in Villach and makes people sit up and take notice in an interview with "Krone": There are too many asylum applications, and political Islam should also be included in the Prohibition Act.

After the terrorist attack in Villach a week ago, Styrian SPÖ chairman Max Lercher does not want to simply go back to business as usual: The public security system no longer worked for the citizens, he said, because it had been cut to pieces for years, especially by the ÖVP.

More police and judicial staff are urgently needed so that asylum procedures can be processed faster and deportations can be carried out more quickly in the event of negative decisions.

Max Lercher, leader of the opposition in the state parliament(Bild: SPÖ/Peter Drechsler)

"Inclusion of political Islam in the Prohibition Act"
And he makes a striking statement about the "enemies of our freedom": "I make no distinction between neo-Nazis, Reich citizens and Islamists. They all do not accept our basic democratic order. I can therefore also imagine political Islam being included in the Prohibition Act," Lercher told the "Krone" newspaper.

Invest existing resources in integration
Because the authorities are currently suffocating under a flood of paperwork, an upper asylum limit is needed: "Existing resources should be invested in the integration of those who have a residence permit, accept our values and want to be part of our community." These people should be supported "so that they can find work quickly and build something for themselves".

However, this will not work if too many applications paralyze the system. "That's why we need an upper limit," demands the opposition leader in the state parliament.

The blue-black state government must also do its homework - and commit to constitutionally compliant messenger monitoring: "Governor Kunasek must now lobby the federal government for this possibility!"