SPÖ leader Babler:

“Asylum seekers should not just cost taxpayers money”

In Traiskirchen, Andreas Babler has created a garden of encounters for Austrians and refugees.

(Bild: Zwefo)

SPÖ leader Andreas Babler wants a mix of "humanity and order" in asylum policy. Asylum numbers should be reduced through fair distribution of refugees in the EU.

SPÖ leader Andreas Babler wants to conduct the interview in the Garden of Encounter in Traiskirchen. A multicultural brunch is held here every Saturday in Babler's home community and is fully booked. Despite the idyllic setting, where refugees tend raised beds, the SPÖ wants to take a tougher stance on asylum. An SPÖ asylum summit will take place next Wednesday.

"Krone": Mr. Babler, isn't this sudden red change of course on the asylum issue happening too late and doesn't that make it implausible? 

There is no change of course. We have a very clear and good position with the Kaiser-Doskozil paper - now we have to present it clearly. I have been pushing for it to be communicated well, which has obviously failed so far. We will need a pragmatic approach - humanity and order. Austrians have taken on a lot of responsibility for refugees in recent years - but we cannot take on all the responsibility alone. Refugees must therefore be distributed fairly across Europe.

Andreas Babler

(Bild: Andreas Tröster)

What do you understand by humanity and order?

My basic attitude is that we have to help people who are fleeing. We need European distribution. We need repatriation agreements with safe third countries. And we need fast asylum procedures, German courses from day one and good integration measures. If the government were to work on this, we would have significantly fewer asylum seekers and many integration problems would not exist. We don't want asylum seekers with a high probability of staying to be condemned to do nothing, we want them to be able to contribute something, not just cost taxpayers' money and become part of us. And once the people are here, they must be protected from the extreme fundamentalists.

How is that supposed to happen? Young Muslims are being radicalized online.

The police force has been thinned out so that we have not managed to keep fundamentalist forces out of circulation. We need to better equip the rule of law.

We are only between 50,000 and 60,000 votes apart after the EU elections. That was the first half. But now comes the second half, and everything is open.

Andreas Babler über den Nationalrat

If refugees are distributed across the EU, should Austria take in more?

We are committed to asylum as a human right, but a Europe-wide distribution would also mean 75% lower asylum numbers for Austria in the medium term. We also need to have a tough debate with Viktor Orban. Hungary is waving asylum seekers through to Austria. That is contrary to EU law. We finally need someone to take action on this issue. What we have experienced is simply black or blue screaming, but nobody has done anything. The right to asylum must also be protected from people who have no reason to flee.

Let's move on to the election campaign. You talk about a three-way fight. Why should Nehammer and Kickl allow a third party to fight?

We are only between 50,000 and 75,000 votes apart after the EU elections. That was the first leg. But now comes the second leg and everything is open. First place is possible for us.

But there is still the Beer Party, which will cost the SPÖ votes.

I'm no pollster, but my feeling is that the beer party will cost everyone votes. But now is no time for fun parties, the future of the Republic is at stake and we are the only ones who can save our country from blue and black.

On Friday, it was announced that 1,000 people were stopped from entering the country in the course of family reunification because there is apparently corruption among the Syrian authorities, who are issuing false documents. Is the Ministry of the Interior doing the right thing?

I wonder what the responsible ÖVP-led ministries have been doing in recent years. As a citizen, I have to rely on the authorities to work properly and to carry out DNA tests in case of doubt. That was already legally possible. It's exciting that three months before the election a grievance is being identified here - in our own area of responsibility.