Grandparental leave

Politics should not “interfere” in families

Minister Raab has clear words on the subject of grandparental leave.

(Bild: APA/Eva Manhart)

Following her proposal for grandparental leave, Family Minister Susanne Raab (ÖVP) has spoken out against politics "interfering" in families. She once again pleaded for "genuine freedom of choice" and defended herself against a "reflexive ideological rejection of options".

She was confident that the ÖVP would come first in the National Council elections. Raab remained vague about her personal political future.

Choices should be created
Criticism of the idea of grandparental leave had been voiced by the Green coalition partner and the SPÖ, among others. Families would know for themselves what was best for them, said the Minister. With this in mind, parental leave for grandparents should be promoted, as should the expansion of childcare. After all, it would only create another choice, no one would be forced to do anything.

"I came back after two months, my husband was on parental leave. The life model was good for us. Does everyone have to do it this way? No." In any case, other parties are less likely to show appreciation for childcare within the family.

Social welfare only after five years
In an interview with APA, Raab, who is also responsible for integration, women and media, announced that social welfare would be an issue in the next legislative period. She envisages a waiting period of five years before receiving full social assistance. Since the case of a Syrian family of nine, who receive 4600 euros per month including rent assistance, became known, the ÖVP has been at loggerheads with the SPÖ and above all with the red-governed Vienna. If they are still talking about combating poverty with amounts of around 5000 euros net per month, "then the SPÖ has lost touch with the real incomes of people in Austria", said Raab.

Raab considers the implementation of automatic pension splitting before the end of this legislative period to be unlikely, as it has already fallen on "deaf ears" with the third Green Minister of Social Affairs. The parent who is not primarily responsible for bringing up the children and is in employment - in most cases the man - transfers part of his pension account credit to the pension account of the other parent. At present, this voluntary option is rarely used.

Satisfied with the black-green coalition
Raab does not want to accept that this would mean a loss of voluntariness, as Carmen Treml, economist at the liberal economic think tank Agenda Austria, has argued. After all, there would be an opt-out option. "In my view, it is completely incomprehensible that the Greens are simply not a partner on this path to equal rights and in the fight against poverty in old age," said Raab. The Greens want to combine the measure with a larger package including wage transparency. The Minister pointed out that an EU directive on pay transparency, albeit less strict than the Greens' proposal, would have to be implemented anyway.

Regardless of this, Raab was satisfied with the black-green coalition. Despite different substantive and ideological approaches, they had "managed to reach compromises in many areas and to introduce good and important laws and content for the people of Austria". Highlights for her include the EUR 4.5 billion investment in childcare expansion, the funding of violence protection centers and the annual inflation adjustment for family benefits. Raab did not want to comment on coalition options after the election - or a possible continuation of the current partnership. "Now there will be an election and then we will see what majorities there are." The only person she clearly does not want to work with in a government is Herbert Kickl.

Believes in Nehammer's election victory
In any case, her goal in the National Council elections is for Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) to win, "and I am also convinced that he will succeed". In the run-up to the election, the ÖVP is focusing everything on the Chancellor, as the party is running as "Karl Nehammer - The People's Party". The middle way, working on solutions for the people, will prevail at the end of the day, said Raab - "not populist right-wing ideologies" or "left-wing dreaming". Nehammer had brought stability to difficult times. In any case, polls are "not always the measure of all things". These have long seen the FPÖ in first place.

Raab did not want to go into detail about her personal political future after the National Council elections. She was very happy to do her job, she said, referring to a possible future ministerial office. However, "the voters have their say first". When asked whether she would enter the National Council as a normal member of parliament if she did not become a minister, Raab was not more specific: She is running for the National Council on the ÖVP federal list and is looking forward to supporting Chancellor Nehammer.