Voglauer (Greens):

“Farmers’ association is afraid of intact nature”

(Bild: krone.tv)

In an interview with krone.tv, Green Party Secretary General Olga Voglauer analyzes the current political situation following Leonore Gewessler's 'yes' to the EU renaturation law: "We celebrated the brilliant result after her 'yes' at the Green Federal Congress. Europe's most important nature conservation law is now on the agenda."

When asked how the Greens' apparently fractured relationship with coalition partner ÖVP could be mended, the Green Secretary General replied: "There has been irritation, I can understand that. But politics thrives on discussion. The Council of Ministers is now taking place again this week." Behind the scenes, personal interaction is going better than the media reports anyway. Voglauer: "Despite our different political views, we are also colleagues in parliament. We greet each other and ask how each other is doing." Only the FPÖ does not quite fulfill this role in Voglauer's view: "I find it worrying that the FPÖ often uses the wrong words. Some of their statements show contempt for human dignity and the rule of law."

Bad situation in the Weinviertel
However, she is surprised by the attitude of the ÖVP and its farmers' association, which now also wants to report Leonore Gewessler: "The farmers' association is apparently afraid of intact nature. But you can already see how important nature conservation would be in the Weinviertel. You can already see dried-up fields and hedges there."

Weak communicative performances
Voglauer also believes that the Greens' communicative performance in recent times had room for improvement: "During the time of the allegations surrounding Lena Schilling, we didn't always put in the best performances. But that was an exceptional situation: the Greens are just as human as anywhere else."