"It's about intensification"

SPÖ wants to “clarify” the migration issue

(Bild: krone.tv)

The SPÖ still has some homework to do on the subject of migration, says SPÖ party chairman Philipp Kucher in the krone.tv talk with Jana Pasching. The issue needs to be "communicated widely and publicly".

Kucher sees the SPÖ as the only party that has developed a clear concept on the topic of migration and integration. "We have the Kaiser-Doskozil paper as a basis. If the key points had been implemented, we would have had 75 percent fewer asylum applications in Austria last year." The problem is that the paper is formulated too broadly. "That's why we need to make it clearer." It is also a matter of intensification. After all, the content had been worked out in detail with Hans-Peter Doskozil and Peter Kaiser.

(Bild: krone.tv)

After German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) announced that he was considering deportations to Afghanistan, the SPÖ also spoke out in favor of this. Critics, however, saw the sudden U-turn as an act of desperation following the EU elections. Kucher defends the move in the krone.tv talk: "It's about checking whether criminals can be deported to Afghanistan, but that's less of a political question." It is specifically about the security assessment on the ground, both in Syria and Afghanistan and other countries. "That is the task of the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The decision is then made by independent judges." At the same time, the aim is to conclude concrete repatriation agreements with neighboring countries.

The shadow boxing between the ÖVP and FPÖ is really a joke.

SPÖ-Klubobmann Philip Kucher

The EU elections should have gone much better for the SPÖ. With a historically worst result, they ended up in third place. Nevertheless, SPÖ leader Andreas Babler believes in an "open three-way fight" with the blue party and the ÖVP in the National Council elections. What makes the party so certain that Babler will get a place in the political ring? Kucher: "Half of the population wants the Social Democrats to take on responsibility in government again. If you want that, you have to vote for social democracy. Our task will be to make this clear in personal discussions."

And he adds: "The shadow boxing between the ÖVP and FPÖ is really a joke. Nehammer has copied everything from the FPÖ, they copy each other's proposals. It's really a game." Kucher is certain: "If the FPÖ and ÖVP have a majority together, the next Federal Chancellor will be Herbert Kickl."