Letter to all parties

SPÖ leader Babler demands rejection of austerity package

SPÖ leader Andreas Babler does not want another austerity package "at the expense of the population".

(Bild: APA/ALEX HALADA)

While Austrian economic researchers are calling for the next government to take a more frugal approach to spending in view of the weak economy and rising national debt, SPÖ leader Andreas Babler does not want to hear about it. In a letter to all parliamentary parties, he is now calling for an austerity package to be rejected.

In a letter sent to the leaders of the parliamentary parties on Friday, Babler warned against cuts to pensions, "the future of our children" and "a further dismantling of healthcare" in view of the "bleak budget situation". In the letter, the SPÖ leader therefore invited his "dear colleagues" to make a joint promise to voters that there would be "no austerity package at the expense of the population" after the election.

SPÖ leader Andreas Babler does not want another austerity package "at the expense of the population".

(Bild: APA/ALEX HALADA)

Wealth tax as a solution
The SPÖ has long criticized the budget policy of the turquoise-green government and warns of an austerity package of ten billion euros being necessary after the election. Instead of savings in the welfare state, Babler once again called for wealth taxes, the reversal of the corporate tax cut and the absorption of "excess profits" from banks and energy companies.

FPÖ wants no more "spam news"
The letter met with little approval from the FPÖ and the NEOS. Freedom Party Secretary General Michael Schnedlitz called on Babler to "refrain from further spam messages". The FPÖ accused the mayor of Traiskirchen, Babler, of placing an excessive burden on his own citizens. In order to put budget policy back on a sustainable path that complies with EU regulations, "an honest overturn of the budget is needed - and no dubious promises", said NEOS Secretary General Douglas Hoyos. The next government must create the leeway to bring the tax rate below 40 percent through tough but urgently needed reforms, he demanded.

Babler asks for votes in letter to non-voters
Just a few days ago, the red party leader wrote an open letter to all potential non-voters. In it, Babler apologized for the "political game" of recent years, in which his party had also "lost its way" and promised to be "a strong voice" for those who had been disappointed in recent years.