Instead of payment cards

No money for asylum seekers? Why the FPÖ is failing

Herbert Kickl and Udo Landbauer: For the FPÖ, the zero limit still applies to immigration.

(Bild: APA/ROBERT JAEGER)

The controversial first payment card model for asylum seekers has only just been introduced by the FPÖ, and the blue party is already emphasizing again that its limit for asylum applications, and if not there, then at least for cash benefits, would actually be zero. Actually - because this is not yet feasible, at least for the time being. 

As is known, payment cards have been in use in several selected asylum centers in Lower Austria since June 1st. The aim is to prevent the purchase of alcohol and tobacco and ensure that tax money is used appropriately. The payment card was already discussed in February and a solution was promised for June. On Tuesday, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner will now present a further proposal on the subject, drawn up by experts from the Ministry of the Interior, at a meeting with those responsible for the federal states. Independently of the proposal, Upper Austria will also launch a pilot project for the payment card in July.

Payment card only a "first step"
"We Freedom Party members are working through the government program in Lower Austria and are far from finished. The payment card is a first step towards a system change that will not please the asylum industry in particular, but that is not our claim either. The welfare state must first and foremost serve our fellow countrymen, namely those who have built it up over the years and finance it with their contributions," explains Lower Austria's FPÖ state deputy Udo Landbauer, who helped develop the model - but would rather pay nothing at all. "The clear goal is and remains the zero quota". According to the Freedom Party member, this applies to cash benefits as well as asylum applications. But would that even be feasible?