"Trust destroyed"

ÖVP provincial councillors no longer talk to Gewessler

The ÖVP provincial energy councillors snub Minister Gewessler at the conference in Bregenz.

(Bild: APA/ALEX HALADA)

Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) wanted to get back to business as usual after the coalition disagreement over the renaturation law. As planned, she went to the conference of the provincial energy councillors in Bregenz on Friday. However, the conference will only take place in a small group: The ÖVP provincial councillors are boycotting the meeting, as Gewessler has "destroyed the basis of trust". The minister was emphatically relaxed.

In the past, the Minister had already shown on several occasions that she "does not care about the interests of the provinces"; the approval of the EU renaturation law despite the rejection of the provinces' position had now "broken the camel's back", according to a joint statement by the five energy provincial councils of Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Tyrol, Salzburg and Carinthia.

Resentment against Gewessler for some time
Due to their "unconstitutional and unlawful approval", the "necessary basis of trust" for the political meeting of the energy ministers on Friday was no longer given, the ÖVP state councillors declared. They make no secret of the fact that they have been harboring a grudge against Gewessler for some time, and list sensitive issues ranging from stopping road construction projects to regional planning, on which they are at loggerheads with the Green politician.

The ÖVP provincial energy councillors snub Minister Gewessler at the conference in Bregenz.

(Bild: APA/ALEX HALADA)

"Not capable of compromise"
They also criticized the "absurd underfunding" of the federal government's solar power storage subsidies and the fact that many legislative matters at federal level remain unresolved. The latter proves "that Federal Minister Gewessler is not capable of compromise because she places ideology above all other interests and even above the law", the provincial councillors continued.

At the same time, the provincial councillors emphasized that the provinces would work together excellently "across party lines" in the energy sector. This is demonstrated by the conference of civil servants at operational level, which takes place in parallel to the meeting of the energy ministers and at which the implementation of the energy transition is to be further advanced.

"People expect politics to work"
At the conference in Bregenz on Friday afternoon, Gewessler was relaxed. She emphasized that a lot was happening in terms of the energy transition and cited the expansion of photovoltaics and the building renovation offensive as successes. The energy transition is in full swing, she said, and people are on board. "It is a task for all of us to continue working in this direction in the coming months and years," she explained.

Minister Gewessler with the provincial energy councillors of Vienna and Vorarlberg, Jürgen Czernohorsky (left, SPÖ) and Daniel Zadra (right, Greens)

(Bild: APA/DIETMAR STIPLOVSEK)

"Not a kindergarten metaphor"
Vorarlberg's State Councillor for Energy Daniel Zadra (Greens) emphasized that the conference was nevertheless able to work and make decisions. They had passed 17 resolutions, including a request to the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Finance to change the framework conditions for the use of deep geothermal energy. It was an exchange format for the state representatives, so participation would be "nice". Some cancellations had already been made some time ago. Vienna's representative Jürgen Czernohorszky (SPÖ) spoke of a "constructive conference"; he did not want to "use a kindergarten metaphor" for the absence of the ÖVP representatives.

The federal SPÖ was outraged. The "undignified chaos" in the government has now resulted in work on important energy issues being completely halted, said energy spokesman Alois Schroll in a press release. All assurances by the ÖVP and the Greens that the coalition will still complete upcoming projects have thus been exposed as pure maneuvering.