Carinthian special session

Election campaign in the state parliament: Housing, wind and security

In an extraordinary session of the Carinthian state parliament, the parties want to bring their issues to the fore.

(Bild: Steiner Clara Milena)

There was actually unanimity among all Carinthian parties regarding the reorganization of housing assistance. The SPÖ wants to place the issue in a prominent position once again in an extraordinary special session of the state parliament.

The main topic of the extraordinary meeting is officially the new housing subsidy, but unofficially it is of course the final spurt towards the national elections in 20 days. The FPÖ and Team Kärnten have their referendum on wind power and the Blue Party had announced in advance that it would use the meeting to table several motions and questions. The "Krone" reports in the live ticker.

Live ticker:
Of the provincial leadership, only Provincial Vice-President Martin Gruber (ÖVP) is not present, Kaiser, Schaunig, Prettner, Schaar and Schuschnig are all there. FPÖ leader Erwin Angerer introduces two urgent motions at the beginning, while Parliament President Reinhart Rohr points out new technology in the plenary and wishes everyone an "informative" session.

Ruth Feistritzer (SPÖ) highlights poverty and inflation - the focus is naturally on housing. The new housing aid for up to 40,000 additional Carinthian households will help here. She makes a detour to the sale of BUWOG apartments as a negative example.

FPÖ leader Erwin Angerer begins by quoting the Momentum Institute, which does not tend to belong to a liberal or conservative circle. He criticizes top members of the SPÖ for their failings. Applications for housing benefit have doubled, he criticizes the "symptom treatment" and the fact that applications can only be submitted from the beginning of 2025. Angerer apparently wants to fall back on the Kelag profit distribution for this. He is already venturing a forecast for the next provincial election in 2029: "That's when you'll be presented with the bill."

ÖVP party chairman Markus Malle uses supermarket shopping as an example of inflation and draws a link to the housing market. Instead of complaining, he wants to "roll up our sleeves". According to Malle, the state government is now doing this. The new housing subsidy is particularly effective, as housing costs have risen sharply. Support for operating costs would help everyone. Another success for Malle is probably that the opposition could not criticize this, only details such as the timing. He also appeals to political capital.

"Team Kärnten" leader Gerhard Köfer speaks to the plenum as "the voice of reason" and mentions the team's ideas that have been adopted by the provincial government. His description of the party as a "think tank" leads to cynical heckling. Köfer names the exact date when Team Carinthia introduced the new housing subsidy: August 31, 2023, 3.06 pm. In Spittal, the city had at least not increased the rents and costs in its own apartments. In the fight against poverty, however, he cites full employment as the most effective means. He thanked the Carinthian entrepreneurs and workers for providing the funds for the housing subsidy.

Gaby Schaunig, Vice-President of the Province of Carinthia, who was in charge of designing the new housing subsidy in the government. She refers to the measures taken by the government in recent years to curb rents in Carinthia. In 2017, there was a Rent Cost Reduction Act. At 5.30 euros per square meter, Carinthia is well below the Austrian average of 7 euros. She points to the focus of the new housing subsidy on operating costs - this will also help homeowners in need. She also thanked all the parliamentary groups for their interest and cooperation.

Harald Trettenbrein (FPÖ) mentions the many applications and initiatives that have been rejected in the past with reference to financial viability. He criticizes the fact that 700 planned apartments have not yet been built. He is also critical of the focus on the provincial capital for the other districts. Although the housing subsidy is a help in many areas, inflation remains.

Stefanie Ofner (ÖVP) said that she had already suspected that the opposition wanted to find "the fly in the ointment". The term "political capital" is not mentioned for the first time today and probably not for the last. She paints a picture of a single parent who is helped by housing benefit.

Gerhard Klocker (TK) points out the role of his own parliamentary group in the amendment. Money in the social sector should go directly to those affected and not "trickle away" into the administration. He emphasized the importance of also being able to support owners. He is now calling for online training for municipal employees so that there are no problems here.

Gernot Darmann (FPÖ) criticizes the (late) timing and the "show version" of the housing subsidy. In his remarks, the election campaign is not just a subtext, but the main actor - thematically everything is included: whether corona measures or Russia sanctions, which he accuses the (federal) government of. He also makes a final reference to September 29.

Herbert Gaggl (ÖVP) began by wishing the young Carinthians a good start to school - in terms of the election campaign, he was in no way inferior to the previous speaker, who continued to interject.

Marina Koschat-Koreimann (TK), focuses on the operating and heating costs, which are now covered. As her party is not running on the 29th, she also manages without the usual election campaign. She emphasizes the consequences of poverty for children and points to the expansion of childcare services.

SPÖ party leader Herwig Seiser praises the "good day for Carinthia" and emphasizes that there is already support for those in need and not just on 1.1.2025. He thanks the opposition for their cooperation and praises Köfer's "social democratic heart", admitting to Angerer that he has his "heart in the right place".

Blue criticism of the rules of procedure and deference
Erwin Angerer, "a friend of lively debates", criticized the behaviour of the Governor, who had probably shown him the "windscreen wiper" during Gernot Darmann's speech: "I perceived it that way, the new camera will show it then." Governor Kaiser apologizes. Erwin Angerer also questioned the accuracy of the current meeting.

This was followed by a lively discussion in a "standing presence" about the convening of a special state parliament for an urgent motion. Parliament President Rohr then clarified that the session was formally correct. In a minute's silence for the two recently deceased Carinthian politicians and former FPÖ members of parliament Jörg Freunschlag and Gerhard Stangl, the President of Parliament paid tribute to their lives and contributions - the entire plenary rose and paid their respects.

Speeches on the "new housing subsidy"
Marika Lagger-Pöllinger (SPÖ) gave concrete examples of Carinthians who are dependent on financial support for housing and who will be helped by the redesign. 
Erwin Baumann (FPÖ) emphasizes that the housing subsidy is "only one building block" for affordable housing in Carinthia and that housing construction measures are also needed. He submitted the amendment that the housing subsidy should apply retroactively from January 1, 2024.
Günter Leikam (SPÖ) explicitly points out the large stock of non-profit housing in Carinthia.

Markus Malle (ÖVP) reassured those elected representatives and Carinthians who feared that applications would only be possible digitally and online. Of course, there are also analog options, but with a view to the future, the focus is on the digital version.
SPÖ Provincial Councillor Beate Prettner congratulates Provincial Vice-President Gaby Schaunig on the "most modern housing subsidy model in Europe". In the area of affordable housing, she presents London as a negative example of "conservative politics" - where, incidentally, the left-wing Labor Party has been mayor for eight years. In other respects, too, she is more of an election campaigner.
The praised Gaby Schaunig cites non-profit housing as a price damper for the rental market in Carinthia: "If we didn't have the non-profit sector, things would look very different on the private market." Otherwise, she cites reasons why new housing projects are not moving faster and why housing subsidies are particularly important right now.

Campaigning response to Prettner
Gernot Darmann (FPÖ) emphasizes his gratitude that it is possible to discuss and talk to each other in parliament - "unlike in Vienna". He then turns his attention to Prettner's comments on BUWOG (Grasser and ÖVP) and Karin Kneissl (Schüssel, Leitl, Kern and Gusenbauer) and again to the Russian sanctions, which in his opinion have had a strong negative impact on the economy (official figures do not necessarily confirm this). A meeting at eye level with the criticized state councillor in relation to the election campaign.

Only the FPÖ and Team Kärnten voted for the amendment that the new housing subsidy should apply retroactively from January 1, 2024. The entire Carinthian state parliament then voted unanimously in favor of the main issue, the "new housing subsidy" - this means that Carinthians in need will be able to submit applications for it from the beginning of next year, both digitally and in analog form.