The big interview

Do you have more brains, Mr. Felbermayr?

Gabriel Felbermayr has been head of the economic research institute Wifo since 2021.

(Bild: Martin Jöchl)

New role for Austria's chief economist. 30 bright minds, including Gabriel Felbermayr, have founded the non-partisan initiative "Mehr Grips". In an interview with Conny Bischofberger, the head of Wifo explains how they want to bring about lasting change in Austrian politics.

He enters Café Landtmann at 8.59 on a Saturday morning, and a minute later Felbermayr is already sitting coatless at our small table and ordering green tea. White shirt, dark blue jacket - a game of professional advice would probably produce a politician.

On Thursday and Friday, the head of Wifo was still in Berlin, where he is a member of the think tank that advises the German government. "We don't have such an independent council of experts in Austria," he says. A kind of expert council with the flirtatious name "Mehr Grips" has now been founded. And that brings us right to the heart of the matter.

"Krone": Mr. Felbermayr, do you perhaps have too much time on your hands because, as head of the Austrian Institute of Economic Research, you can also rack your brains for a private initiative? 
Gabriel Felbermayr: Exactly the opposite is the case. I have a time-consuming job, I have a family that I would like to spend more time with. And the 29 others in "Mehr Grips" feel the same way. Whether you run an NGO or a large industrial company, time is our scarcest commodity. What is so fascinating about this initiative is that people who don't actually have time are taking time because they care about the country, about our future. That makes you worry and think.