"The duel"

Glawischnig: “Crash of the party system”

(Bild: krone.tv)

In the current edition of the political duel on krone.tv, Eva Glawischnig and Andreas Mölzer discuss the National Council elections and the future government. The discussion began with the high losses suffered by the Greens compared to the last election.

Glawischnig: "This is certainly a disastrous result. Now we need a fresh start." Mölzer replies: "Climate protection has now become a cross-cutting issue for all parties. You just shouldn't push the issue too sectarian like the Greens with lots of constraints and regulations."

Glawischnig's analysis: "The current election result is a complete crash of the previous party system. Many federal states are now colored differently." Even in the black heartland of Lower Austria, the ÖVP was only just ahead of the FPÖ in terms of votes. Mölzer's response: "If the ÖVP loses Lower Austria, then the question is whether it will even remain a factor as a party in the medium term." Why did Herbert Kickl skip the final TV elephant round on Sunday evening? Mölzer's view: "The election campaign was very much a TV campaign. But the FPÖ lacks support from the media. That's why they set up their own media. You no longer need to go to all the TV duels and elephant rounds."

Poison kitchen and broiling phase
A future black-red two-party coalition would be unrealistic from the point of view of both duelists, as the mandate majority would then only be secured with a single mandate. And a two-party coalition between the FPÖ and the ÖVP is also unthinkable, as the ÖVP has ruled out a coalition with Kickl at the head of the FPÖ and this would only be conceivable if someone else were to lead the party. Mölzer: "But why should the election winner Kickl step aside? That would be stupid!" From the point of view of both duelists, everything is currently in flux. And the longer the exploratory phase lasted, the more things would simmer within the parties. Glawischnig: "This is now the poison kitchen and broiling phase. And it will take time."

(Bild: krone.tv)

Babler in early retirement?
When asked what the future of SPÖ leader Andreas Babler and Green Party leader Werner Kogler will look like, Glawischnig reassures: "Werner Kogler will still be involved in the difficult phase of the exploratory talks. But he has also earned a future departure date." Mölzer's short and concise summary of the issue: "Kogler in retirement and Babler in early retirement." In Glawischnig's view, Kogler's potential successor in the Greens could come from the Green women's group Alma Zadic, Leonore Gewessler or Sigrid Maurer: "Zadic enjoys a high level of recognition across party boundaries."  

In another block of topics, the duelists discuss the problem of hooligans on domestic soccer pitches, such as recently at the Vienna derby between Rapid and Austria Vienna. You can watch the entire duel in the video above.