Fuss about seating arrangements
National Council: The FPÖ moves further to the right
The new National Council has not even been constituted yet when there is already the first turmoil among the parties. In the presidential chamber on Thursday, all parliamentary groups - with the exception of the Freedom Party - were in favor of the strengthened FPÖ swapping places with the ÖVP and thus moving to the far right from the lectern. But the Blue Party doesn't like that at all ...
According to the new seating arrangement, everything would remain the same for the other clubs. The SPÖ would be on the far left, with the Greens and NEOS next to them. But none of this has been finalized yet.
"Kindergarten dispute"
"The kindergarten dispute is taking place on two levels," said one MP to "Krone". On the first level, the ÖVP and FPÖ are bickering over who has to move to the far right.
FPÖ does not want to be pushed into the right corner
In the last legislative period, the ÖVP and its 71 MPs sat on the far right. It is now to swap places with the FPÖ and move to the center. The Blue Party does not want this because it does not want to be pushed to the right. "The FPÖ has suddenly discovered the center for itself," said one participant in the meeting with amusement.
Greens and NEOS don't want to sit next to each other
But that's not all, there is also a dispute over who should sit in the front row. The Greens and NEOS do not want to sit next to each other, but this problem is somewhat more complicated: there are 17 seats in the front row. The ÖVP had previously occupied seven of them, the SPÖ four, the FPÖ three, the Greens two and the NEOS one. The new proposal is: 5 FPÖ, 5 ÖVP, 4 SPÖ, 1 Green and 1 NEOS and one empty seat between the Greens and the Pinks. According to this division, there would only be 16 seats in the front row, but a gap between all the parliamentary groups, so that a clear separation is visible.
The club directors have been instructed to find a solution that satisfies everyone. The chances of success are considered slim.
The President of the National Council will be elected on October 24
Otherwise, no major decisions were made in the presidential chamber. The agenda was set for the meeting on October 24, the highlight of which is the election of the President of the National Council. The FPÖ candidate for the President of the National Council will be determined after the committees have met next Wednesday, said Deputy Chairwoman Dagmar Belakowitsch.
Depending on the person proposed, the SPÖ will vote in favor, stated club leader Philip Kucher. Deputy NEOS Club Chairman Nikolaus Scherak also believes that this is the right practice. However, the NEOS want to invite the FPÖ candidate to a meeting first. August Wöginger, chairman of the ÖVP parliamentary group, also took a wait-and-see approach - after all, they don't know who the FPÖ will nominate. The outgoing President of the National Council, Wolfgang Sobotka (ÖVP), only said after the meeting that it was not a presidential responsibility.
Greens reject FPÖ National Council President
The Greens are swimming against the tide, vehemently rejecting an FPÖ National Council President. According to the Greens, a petition to this effect already has over 15,000 signatures. Belakowitsch said after the meeting that the fact that they reject a blue National Council President does not speak for their understanding of democracy. It is almost certain who will become the third President of the National Council: The current runner-up Doris Bures (SPÖ) announced her intention to run.
Sobotka bids farewell
The constituent session opens with the intonation of the national anthem and the European anthem. After the swearing-in of the mandataries, the new National Council presidency is to be elected, with the Members of Parliament first deciding on the President of the National Council. The second and third Presidents are then elected separately. The elections are traditionally held by secret ballot in booths, preceded by a debate. Until the election of the new President of the National Council, the "old" President, i.e. Wolfgang Sobotka, will chair the session. Thursday was also his last presidential conference, as he is no longer a candidate for the National Council.
On Thursday, the Presidential Conference also agreed on a work plan for the National Council until December. Further National Council meetings are therefore planned for November 20 and December 11.
This article has been automatically translated,
read the original article here.
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