ORF "summer talk"

NEOS leader: “Will have to turn over every cent”

NEOS leader Beate Meinl-Reisinger kicked off the ORF "Summer Talks".

(Bild: ORF Sendungen/ORF/Roman Zach-Kiesling)

Presenter Martin Thür welcomed NEOS leader Beate Meinl-Reisinger to the first ORF "Summer Talk" on Monday evening at Lake Traunsee. Wasps occasionally disrupted the eloquent pink woman's flow of words.

As a reminder: in 2021 there were elephant trumpets at the "Sommergespräch" and in 2009 quacking ducks on the lake. "When I wave my hands here, it's the wasps," said Meinl-Reisinger right at the start of the interview with Martin Thür.

"The ÖVP and SPÖ are burnt out"
Apart from the wasps, what else was striking in the ORF "summer talk"? The NEOS leader is apparently more or less certain that her party will be the third coalition partner in the next government. "The ÖVP and SPÖ are burnt out, they need us to tackle reforms with courage and energy," analyzed the leader of the Pinken party.

Beate Meinl-Reisinger at Lake Traunsee

(Bild: APA Pool/APA/FOTOKERSCHI.AT/WERNER KERSCHBAUM)

Meinl-Reisinger demands finance ministry for NEOS
She confidently demanded the Ministry of Finance for the NEOS. Peter Filzmaier immediately dismissed this hope in his analysis on "ZiB 2". "Getting the Ministry of Finance is somewhere between Easter and Christmas. A State Secretary post in the Ministry of Finance is more realistic". The NEOS also want an independent Minister of Justice in the next government.

"45 years of work is enough"
Meinl-Reisinger's demand that the retirement age should be linked to life expectancy in the event of a reform is sure to provoke discussion among pensioners. Pensioners' representatives are known to get up in arms about this, even though Meinl-Reisinger stated: "45 years of work is enough."

(Bild: ORF Sendungen/ORF/Roman Zach-Kiesling)

(Bild: ORF Sendungen/ORF/Roman Zach-Kiesling)

Meinl-Reisinger summed up why a reform is needed as follows: one third of the budget is being used to close the pension gap.

Meinl-Reisinger also criticized Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) for his statement that he wanted to carry on as before - despite record debts. "We will have to turn over every cent", emphasized the pink party leader.

Social welfare debate: NEOS want a different model to the SPÖ
In the social welfare debate, the pink party leader wants a degressive model for child benefits in future. In Vienna, where the NEOS are in a coalition with the SPÖ, the same amount of social welfare support is paid for each child, regardless of the number of children in a family. This was recently demonstrated by the example of the Syrian family of nine, who receive 4600 euros a month in social welfare. The Pinks want a different model here than their coalition partner, the SPÖ.

These days, I sometimes feel like I'm in an agent thriller in politics.

Beate Meinl-Reisinger (NEOS)

The NEOS are also demanding that in future there should be a school subject (alongside religious education) called "Living with our values" in order to promote integration.

It was also about personal matters. The lawyer originally wanted to become an actress. "Today, in politics I sometimes feel like I'm in an agent thriller."

Overall, it has to be said that Meinl-Reisinger found it difficult to outline a viable path for a coalition with the ÖVP and SPÖ in the next legislative period.