"Krone" commentary

Human, not political

Analyzes for the "Krone": domestic policy expert Claus Pándi

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe.com, Krone KREATIV)

Things are not looking good in the negotiations for the new government. No amount of incense will help: the three parties simply have nothing in common. The Blacks and Reds have never trusted each other, and the Neos can do nothing with the ÖVP, which is driven by the spirit of Lower Austrian civil servants.

The human factor in politics
As is often the case in life, politics is not about the big political issues, but about the human factor. And from this perspective, the outcome of the coalition talks is easy to calculate: Karl Nehammer wants to remain Federal Chancellor, and even more, by all accounts, Mrs. Nehammer wants to remain Mrs. Chancellor.

The situation is not much different for Andreas Babler. He wants to remain head of the SPÖ and become Vice-Chancellor, and, above all, as is known not only in Traiskirchen, Ms. Babler is not thinking of hanging up her coat-tails as shadow party leader just yet.

Little is known about Mr. Meinl in this respect. You can only see his wife Beate, vibrating with happiness, on TV, expressing her enthusiasm about her future importance.

And because the political careers of the Nehammers, the Bablers and Beate Meinl-Reisinger would be at an end if the coalition talks fail, we will get the so-called "Zuckerl-Koalition" next year for better or worse. It will be possible to find common ground. According to the motto: debts unite.