Austrian Elections & Politics 3.0 - Parliamentary Election: Oct. 15

[Tintrlvr]

To be honest, sounds like a position that could gather a lot of support from non-Greens, Pim Fortuyn-style. Is Pilz someone who could run that kind of campaign?

[ApatheticAustrian]

Tender can you clarify what exactly Pilz' idealogy is? Economically to the left of the Green leadership, but more critical of immigration?

pilz is an economically leftish anti-corruption crusader, who is best known for raging against scandals since decades an is the most famous living to-go-guy for whistleblowers in this country.

at the same time he is not sharing the kind of blind spots some lefties have re: more radical islam and hyper-nationalist turks.

[Tender Branson]

New poll (Research Affairs/ÖSTERREICH, online, June 27-29, n=600):



58% ÖVP-FPÖ
38% SPÖ-Greens-NEOS
  4% Others

[Tender Branson]

Austria's 150-year old parliament building is almost falling apart, so it will be completely renovated for 500 Mio. € over the next 3 years. Work will start next month and the new parliament will then look very modern in 2020 (like the German Bundestag).

In the meantime, an "interim parliament" was set up in the Hofburg Palace. Work there was finished today and MPs will soon move there (their offices are re-located right now to 2 pavillions outside the Hofburg).

This is the interim parliament:

[MAINEiac4434]

Interim parliament is snazzy. I like it!

[Tender Branson]

Interim parliament is snazzy. I like it!

And this is how the new renovated parliament will look like in 2020:

Parliament room, visitor gallery and glass ceiling on top



(Investigation) committee rooms



Upper floor + restaurants near the visitor gallery



Whole concept + offices of MP + visitor areas

[Tender Branson]

The ÖVP party convention takes place today in Linz, where some 1000 delegates will officially elect Sebastian Kurz as new party leader. He'll also get 4 new deputy party leaders (inclunding 3 women).

Kurz will then deliver a speech about the economy/jobs, security/immigration/integration and social issues. After the convention, the ÖVP will host a "summer party" with an expected 5000 guests.

http://orf.at/stories/2397548

[Tender Branson]

BREAKING NEWS:

Irmgard Griss, the independent presidential candidate from 2016 who got 19% of the votes in the first round and former Austrian Constitutional Court President, will officially run for the liberal NEOS.



https://kurier.at/politik/inland/unabhaengige-irmgard-griss-kandidiert-fuer-neos-liste/272.667.791

This is a major victory for NEOS, because Griss was also targeted by the Kurz-team as a candidate. She still has a good image among centrist voters and a broad voter base from 2016.

According to the "Kurier" newspaper, Griss has already agreed to a NEOS candidacy.

Because NEOS already had their party primaries for candidates, Griss will be offered a "wildcard" to run as an Indy candidate on the NEOS list. If 50%+ of NEOS party members vote for the wildcard, she's in.

[Tender Branson]

Kern, Kurz, Strache/Hofer, (Greens), Strolz/Griss, maybe Pilz, KPÖ+ and Düringer's comedy list.

This election's going to have the best lineup of candidates ever for a parliamentary election.

Lots of choice for voters. Good for turnout.

[Tender Branson]

A brutal double murder case currently shocks Austria and politics:

A Muslim delivery driver from Tunisia has killed an old couple in Linz and burned down their house because he thought they were FPÖ voters and he blamed the FPÖ for all his personal misery.

Chancellor Kern has issued a statement on this disgusting crime, calling it "heinous".

[Tender Branson]

A brutal double murder case currently shocks Austria and politics:

A Muslim delivery driver from Tunisia has killed an old couple in Linz and burned down their house because he thought they were FPÖ voters and he blamed the FPÖ for all his personal misery.

Chancellor Kern has issued a statement on this disgusting crime, calling it "heinous".

More and more details about this horrific crime are emerging. The old couple for example were no FPÖ voters, he wrongly thought they were because their son worked in the Upper Austrian state government which has a ÖVP-FPÖ coalition. In fact, the old couple repeatedly gave the killer money to help him with his failing delivery business. When the couple's son refused to talk with the killer he planned the murders - to send a message to the FPÖ and Austrian society - who apparently treated him badly in the last years, also via welfare cuts. More tomorrow.

[ApatheticAustrian]

Victim-blaming, taking no responsibility and no, someone who was in this country for 30 years is not a tunisian anymore, this is just a criminal austrian muslim with paranoia and without balls.

[Tender Branson]

Victim-blaming, taking no responsibility and no, someone who was in this country for 30 years is not a tunisian anymore, this is just a criminal austrian muslim with paranoia and without balls.

Well, if you are in the country for 30 years and still never applied for citizenship, you are probably still a Tunisian in your head.

Besides, this is already the 2nd such murder case in the past year - with foreigners targeting actual or suspected FPÖ-voters: Just last May, slightly before the Presidential runoff, a rejected 21-year old African asylum seeker who was in the country illegally and who had a history of crime, killed an actual FPÖ-voter (a cleaning lady) on her way to work, by beating her to death with an iron rod.

[Tender Branson]

Sebastian Kurz elected new ÖVP-leader with 98.7% of the delegates.

Some pictures from the ÖVP convention:

[Tender Branson]

The former Health Minister Maria Rauch-Kallat (ÖVP) is in favour of Marriage for All.

https://derstandard.at/2000060652607/Rauch-Kallat-fuer-Ehe-fuer-alle

[Tender Branson]

With the parliamentary season almost over (there will be another session on July 13 before the summer recess, to pass the election date), the SPÖ were able to pass a variety of issues that are important to them and which are part of Kern's "Plan A":

* abolishing the care regress
* job bonus for companies hiring new workers
* 20.000+ plan to hire old, or long-term unemployed
* education reform
* healthcare reform with more primary care centers
* higher university financing
* higher R&D spending
* a 30% women quota in private companies
* more electricity generated from renewables
* a higher minimum wage was agreed on (will be passed after the summer recess)

https://spoe.at/story/plan-festspiele-im-parlament

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Contrary to these major points, the ÖVP can only be happy about a much smaller amount:

* A Burqa and Niqab ban in public, with fines of 150€ starting on October 1
* A security package & tougher foreigner law, with tougher penalties for rejected asylum seekers
* Pictures on healthcare insurance e-cards, to combat (almost non-existing) fraud

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Despite the fact that the SPÖ and Kern recently managed to pass a lot more than the ÖVP in parliament, the SPÖ has a major problem according to the new Profil poll:

"Which of these issue blocks are most important in the coming election ?"

56% immigration, integration, security and asylum seekers
41% social issues, labour market, jobs and care

https://www.profil.at/oesterreich/umfrage-migration-wahlkampf-thema-8214128

If Kern and the SPÖ are not succeeding in selling their policies to the people over the next months, they might lose the election - despite achieving much more for the people in parliament.

[Tender Branson]

Pictures of the ÖVP convention and "summer party" in Linz on Saturday, wich was attended by 8.000 people and delegates. A pretty huge crowd for the "red" steel city of Linz ...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/sebastian_kurz/albums/72157682857255964

https://www.flickr.com/photos/sebastian_kurz/albums/72157685622579206

[Tender Branson]

After Kern last week, Strache will be interviewed on PULS 4 TV tonight in a town-hall style format.

(Actually, Kurz was scheduled to be interviewed today, but Strache/Kurz changed dates because Kurz had the ÖVP convention this weekend).

Once again, there will be an OGM poll about how Strache performed with voters on leadership qualities and on the issues.

[Tender Branson]

Hmm ... Strache just had a surprisingly good performance during the PULS 4 interview.

I'll post my analysis after the OGM poll is out. Let's see if it confirms my first impression.

[ApatheticAustrian]

Kern's 7 point-plan also underlines the need to secure human rights inside of the EU....which sets him on a totally different path than Kurz, who always signaled that he could care less about the slow deconstruction of democratic standards in Hungary/Poland.

We got a real choice this time.

[Tender Branson]

OGM poll results for the Strache (FPÖ) interview on PULS 4 yesterday:

Does Strache have good leadership qualities ? 56-44 Yes. (Kern last week: 64-36)

Did Strache convince you on the issues ? 53-47 Yes. (Kern last week: 64-36)

Does Strache represent your values and positions ? 47-53 No. (Kern last week: 45-55)

Did Strache convince overall in the interview ? 48-52 No. (Kern last week: 50-50)

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Overall MEN: 55-45
Overall WOMEN: 41-59

By party:

Strache was convincing to 94% of FPÖ-voters, 53% ÖVP, 30% NEOS, 20% Greens and 17% of SPÖ-voters.

http://www.puls4.com/pro-und-contra/videos/PULS-4-Sommergespraeche/PULS-4-Sommergespraech-mit-Heinz-Christian-Strache

Those are not bad numbers, considering the FPÖ is at 24-25% right now and Strache himself usually only has favorable ratings in the 30s.

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As for the debate, Strache started out slowly and had to play defense on a lot of issues involving the last 12 years of him as party leader. Corinna Milborn asked some tough questions, but Strache remained calm and answered well. After about 45 minutes, the discussion became more interesting when Strache talked about how the FPÖ is against new taxes such as an inheritance tax and that taxes in general are too high already for the "small working man". The state should focus more on keeping spending low and take up the proposals of the Court of Audit to weed out various subsidies. This is when even the crowd, made up exclusively of 8th-grade probably leftist eye-rolling and tired students, started to applaud Strache ...

[Tender Branson]

Yesterday evening, Chancellor Kern discussed current politics with another former SPÖ-Chancellor, Franz Vranitzky.



Kern called a coalition with the FPÖ after the election "extremely hypothetical" and said that "for quite some time now, people are working on a new Black-Blue (=ÖVP/FPÖ) project anyway behind the scenes."

http://diepresse.com/home/innenpolitik/5246048/Kern_RotBlau-nach-der-Wahl-extrem-hypothetisch

To me, this sounds as if Kern is already preparing for an opposition role for the SPÖ.

Other possibilities: The SPÖ loses the election, ÖVP-FPÖ is formed, Kern steps down as Chancellor and becomes new Vienna mayor. Pamela Rendi-Wagner (current health-minister) becomes opposition leader.

[Tender Branson]

Austria to send troops, armoured vehicles to border with Italy to block migrants

You must be logged in to read this quote.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/07/04/austria-send-troops-armoured-vehicles-border-italy-block-migrants

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That's the problem ... Why rescue them 10 miles off Libya and bring them 300 miles to Italy ? Better bring them back to Africa instead. If people are brought to Europe in sea taxis, they will then call their relatives in Africa and they will be on the move north as well soon. Send 'em back and close the route for good.

[Tender Branson]

^^^

Europe and especially Italy are all going nuts because of it ...

The DailyMail article about it has more than 3000 comments ...

And today, Kern said that right now it's only a hypothetical plan to station 750 troops at the Tyrol/Italian border and some vehicles.

Currently, authorities are stopping some 15-20 people each day crossing into Austria illegally. Only if groups are starting to show up at the border, the troops would be sent there. But so far, Italy is doing a good job in keeping them within Italy.

[Tender Branson]

A Peter Pilz list could apparently get up to 10% in the election, according to a new ÖVP poll conducted over the weekend:

http://derstandard.at/2000060777425/Meinungsforscher-zur-Liste-Pilz-Kollateralschaden-fuer-Gruene