Neos on the barricades

Cat-and-mouse game between ÖVP and Greens

Leonore Gewessler does not rank very high on the popularity scale of the Vorarlberg ÖVP and NEOS.(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

The statements made by Transport Minister Leonore Gewessler during her recent visit to Vorarlberg are also causing displeasure among the NEOS.  

The Green Minister's position on the S18 is well known - as is that of the Vorarlberg ÖVP led by Governor Markus Wallner. The fronts have hardened - long before Gewessler tried to persuade the people of Vorarlberg to abandon the expressway project in July. As a reminder: in a working agreement, the transport minister wanted to remove the S18 from the Federal Roads Act, but in return pay for the expansion of lower-ranking roads towards the Swiss border.

Provincial Governor Markus Wallner saw this more as a provocation than an election campaign gag and reacted extremely harshly: "Ms. Gewessler is in some kind of maze where nobody knows where she actually wants to go and she has to find her own way out of it."

"We need a functioning traffic solution"
However, Gewessler also insisted on her position during her most recent visit to the state - and brought NEOS state leader Claudia Gamon to the barricades. "We need a functioning transport solution for the entire Rhine Valley and not a cat-and-mouse game between the ÖVP and the Greens," Gamon said angrily. In her view, functioning transport connections are important. The proposed minor solutions would not solve the traffic problems - on the contrary. "This encourages discussions that are more like a cat-and-mouse game at the expense of the people of Vorarlberg!"

This artificial shadow boxing between Wallner and Gewessler will ultimately not bring any solution. In the end, there will be no more black-green coalition, but unfortunately the traffic problem will.

Claudia Gamon, NEOS

The ÖVP also got its comeuppance, saying that it was time for the members of the state government to finally consider the entire Rhine Valley for traffic relief and not fixate on the S18 as a panacea. "This artificial shadow boxing between Wallner and Gewessler will ultimately not bring any solution. The fact is: in the end, there will no longer be a black-green coalition, but unfortunately the traffic problem will."

Regulation causes uncertainty
The ÖVP is also annoyed by Gewessler's voting behavior with regard to renaturation. The ordinance, which has now come into force, is causing uncertainty among farmers, says Member of Parliament Bernhard Feuerstein (ÖVP) angrily. For example, areas in the lower Rhine Valley that are used for growing vegetables and other crops should continue to be used for food production and not be slowed down by "complicated and lengthy bureaucratic processes".