"Government of the center"

Stocker wants to reach out to opposition voters

Together with his coalition partners, Stocker once again invokes the "good Austrian tradition" of compromise.(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker (ÖVP) also wants to reach out to voters of the opposition parties with his "government of the center" and speaks out in his government statement for a "new togetherness". In addition, funding for the second compulsory year of kindergarten is "secured".

 

"Different points of view and perspectives are not a weakness, but on the contrary the strength that defines our liberal, pluralistic democracy," said the Chancellor on Thursday in the Bundesrat, praising the advantages of the first three-party coalition. Together with his coalition partners from the SPÖ and the NEOS - in the person of Vice-Chancellor Andreas Babler (SPÖ) and State Secretary Josef Schellhorn (NEOS) - he once again invoked the "good Austrian tradition" of compromise.

Funding for the second compulsory kindergarten year "secured"
 When presenting the priorities of the government program, Stocker assured the members of the provincial chamber that funding for the planned second compulsory kindergarten year was "secured". Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr (NEOS) had recently announced that this would be anchored in the next federal-state agreement on kindergartens.

The start of the compulsory kindergarten year for four-year-olds would therefore be possible in 2027 at the earliest. According to the government program, all additional funds and measures from 2027 are actually subject to a general budget proviso.

Vice-Chancellor Babler praises government program
Vice-Chancellor Andreas Babler (SPÖ) promised that the government would respect parliament and also involve the opposition parties. He praised the government program as a "printed Austrian virtue, a great compromise of constructive forces".

State Secretary Josef Schellhorn (NEOS), who is standing in for Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger due to her trip to Ukraine, emphasized that the coming years would not be easy. The people had earned this "honesty paired with the right amount of optimism". The State Secretary for Deregulation was confident that it would be possible to relieve the burden on people by reducing bureaucracy.