"A strong signal!"

SPÖ federal councillors vote against pension adjustment

Roland Fürst, SPÖ Club Chairman in Burgenland, made it clear: "At least the SPÖ in Burgenland continues to stand by the pensioners!".(Bild: Grammer Karl)

The federal government has been in office for less than nine months and has already suffered its second minor voting mishap. After two NEOS National Councillors voted against messenger surveillance, two Social Democrats from Burgenland have now voted against pension adjustments in the Federal Council.

On Thursday evening, a majority of the Federal Council also gave the green light for the controversial pension adjustments. However, there were not only dissenting votes from the Freedom Party, but also from within the government itself. The two SPÖ federal councillors from Burgenland, Thomas Schmid and Mario Trinkl, did not approve the cap on pension adjustments in the Bundesrat. This is said to have caused displeasure and nervousness in government circles on Thursday evening.

Not the first "fallers"
In the still young term of office of the federal government, there have already been two votes in which mandataries from government parties have contradicted their own course. Back in July, messenger surveillance was passed with two votes against from the NEOS, Nikolaus Scherak and Stephanie Krisper, who has since resigned. Now - from the government's point of view - the SPÖ Burgenlanders, who were already rather critical of the government, have fallen over themselves when it comes to pensions. In Burgenland itself, however, they see their own line confirmed.

Against the line of the federal party
"As we announced, the Burgenland SPÖ mandataries in Vienna will not vote in favor of the 2026 pension adjustment. This is a strong sign of the credibility of the Burgenland SPÖ, which always puts Burgenland and the people in the state before party politics and does not support the federal party's line when necessary," said Burgenland SPÖ Club Chairman Roland Fürst after the vote on the pension adjustment in the Federal Council meeting.

Roland Fürst, SPÖ party chairman in Burgenland, clarifies: "At least the SPÖ in Burgenland continues to stand by the pensioners!".(Bild: Grammer Karl)

Burgenland, with Governor Hans Peter Doskozil at the helm, offers a model for genuine social policy with concrete measures for the people in the state.

Roland Fürst, Klubobmann im Burgenland

According to Fürst, the SPÖ Burgenland is keeping its word and continues to stand firmly on the side of pensioners - "whether in Eisenstadt or Vienna." This consistent stance distinguishes the Burgenland SPÖ from parties such as the FPÖ and ÖVP, "whose representatives in Vienna often forget all too quickly that they should actually be representing Burgenland interests in parliament".

Burgenlanders with "their own opinion"
The two SPÖ Federal Councillors Schmid and Trinkl themselves state the following about their voting behavior: "As members of the Federal Council, we are free to have our own opinion as representatives of a federal province. And we are of the opinion that this pension adjustment does not serve the interests of Burgenland and our pensioners." They demanded that the statutory pension adjustment of 2.7 percent be implemented in full for all pensioners and that any further cuts or caps be withdrawn.