Coalition Row

Showdown Over Drought Aid: The Tone Is Getting Harsher

Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig has been caught in the crossfire of criticism for weeks.(Bild: Krone-Collage/APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH, APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

For days, the government has been haggling over aid for farmers hit by drought. On Thursday morning, the next—and possibly decisive—round of negotiations began. The tone is getting harsher, and the states are also banging their fists on the table—such as Upper Austria’s Governor Thomas Stelzer (ÖVP). 

Positions have hardened. While Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig (ÖVP) speaks of the SPÖ’s “social coldness,” the Social Democrats and Greens feel provoked by the draft climate protection law that has been presented. Most recently, the minister was given an ultimatum to submit a climate protection law by 10 a.m. today—one “that truly deserves the name.” In any case, the three parties are now negotiating once again over aid for Austria’s farmers. On Wednesday evening, as reported, the talks nearly fell apart. 

Totschnig wants to launch an aid package designed to quickly provide farms with additional liquidity. The SPÖ and NEOS, on the other hand, are insisting on precision, solid counter-financing, and long-term measures to combat the consequences of climate change.

Farmers Are Applying Pressure
The agriculture minister’s plan includes, among other things, interest subsidies for operating capital loans and a waiver of social security contributions. Lorenz Mayr, the president-elect of the Lower Austrian Chamber of Agriculture, is now citing specific figures: “We’re talking about interest subsidies totaling 30 million euros to maintain liquidity on farms, and a waiver of social security contributions amounting to 250 million euros.” This would amount to a total relief package of 280 million euros. However, it is disputed how much of this would actually consist of new budget funds. In any case, the Lower Austrian Farmers’ Association speaks of a “budget-neutral solution.”

The soil has dried up, there is a shortage of feed, and harvests are collapsing. In this situation, we must not leave our agricultural sector to fend for itself

NÖ-Landeshauptfrau Johanna Mikl-Leitner

Meanwhile, Lower Austria’s Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner (ÖVP) is launching a direct attack on the SPÖ. In parts of her state, she says, it has never been as dry as it is this year.

She then takes a swipe at the Social Democrats: “Today, one gets the impression that, for the SPÖ, solidarity ends at the city limits of Vienna and only applies when it comes to ever-higher minimum income payments.” Vice Chancellor Andreas Babler and Finance Minister Markus Marterbauer must end their obstruction.

Pressure is also mounting from Upper Austria. Because the federal government still hasn’t been able to agree on a drought relief package, Governor Thomas Stelzer (ÖVP) is banging his fist on the table and criticizing the negotiations at the federal level with unusual sharpness. “While our farmers are fearing for their crops, their feed, and in some cases the future of their farms, discussions at the federal level are focused on partisan sensitivities. This simply won’t do,” says Stelzer.

While our farmers are worried about their harvests, their feed, and in some cases the future of their farms, discussions are focused on party-political sensitivities.

Oberösterreichs Landeshauptmann Thomas Stelzer (ÖVP)

After all, drought damage in Upper Austria alone is now estimated at more than 210 million euros, of which 110 to 115 million euros is likely to be covered by insurance. Stelzer and Provincial Agriculture Minister Michaela Langer-Weninger (ÖVP) are therefore calling for additional federal funding and swift, unbureaucratic aid—such as deferrals of social security contributions or subsidized working capital loans.

Farmers’ Union Director Paul Nemecek also weighed in: “Our farmers don’t need more rounds of talks; they need a decision.” He called party-political games in such an emergency situation an “undignified spectacle.”

Greens: “Government Is Unimaginative and Short-Sighted”
The opposition also speaks of a spectacle—albeit with a completely different angle. Deputy Green Party caucus chair Sigi Maurer accuses all three governing parties of failure: “Austria is withering away and the climate is getting hotter and hotter—but the coalition is delivering nothing.” Instead of taking responsibility, the ÖVP, SPÖ, and NEOS are “celebrating mutual obstruction.” Farmers and climate protection are paying the price. Maurer is particularly critical of plans to finance part of the aid with climate protection funds: “The government is fighting the drought with money intended to mitigate the climate crisis. That is so unimaginative and short-sighted.”