Cast your vote!

Model Student? Your Grades for the Government

“Fail”—or have Babler, Stocker, and Meinl-Reisinger convinced you?(Bild: Krone KREATIV/APA/Georg Hochmuth, zVg)

Summer break has begun in parts of Austria—and the government is also likely to head into its summer recess after the upcoming plenary week. Do they deserve it? You decide! Give your grades now for the performance record of Stocker, Babler, Schellhorn, and Co.

For 16 months, the first three-party coalition—comprising the ÖVP, SPÖ, and NEOS—has been steering Austria’s course, grappling with the largest budget deficit in history, the highest inflation, and a health care system in dramatic decline. The performance of the 15 ministers and seven state secretaries varies widely. 

Now it’s your turn to decide!
Who worked hard during the past school year? Who kept up with the lessons, who are the top students in the federal government—and who is failing? Give your grades here on a scale from 1 (“Very Good”) to 5 (“Failing”):

Model student or repeat student?
While Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger, for example, can count her country’s seat as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council as a success, her State Secretary Sepp Schellhorn stands out primarily for the failure of 94 of his 113 measures to reduce bureaucracy. 

Within the ÖVP, Chancellor Christian Stocker must even fight for his military reform within his own ranks, while Environment Minister Norbert Totschnig defended the agricultural diesel subsidy for farmers against all austerity measures.

Speaking of savings: There, the Social Democratic Finance Minister Markus Marterbauer manages the feat of still ranking far ahead of his Vice Chancellor Andreas Babler in popularity—despite tough budget announcements—even though he constantly emphasizes that he’s relieving Austrians through a VAT cut, rent caps, and fuel price caps. That much commitment to the little guy—surely that’s enough for an “A,” right?

The final report card will be handed out on the last day of school
The—anonymous—voting runs through Thursday, July 9. Once you’ve assigned all your grades, you can compare them in real time with the average ratings from “Krone” users. On Friday, the last day of school, the “Krone” will then “hand out” the final results to the politicians.