Unofficial politics

Marathon session on housing and nature conservation

The new Housing Promotion Act and the Nature Conservation and Environmental Ombudsman Act were passed.

(Bild: Markus Tschepp)

The Salzburg state parliament finalized two important Black-Blue plans. Meanwhile, a new election poll only brought joy to two parties.

At the end of the year, the members of the state parliament were really busy once again. Their plenary session on Wednesday lasted until late in the evening. There was still no sign of Christmas peace or quiet. The program was also ambitious. The new Housing Promotion Act and the Nature Conservation and Provincial Environmental Ombudsman Act were passed. The short-term presentation of the Housing Act just 48 hours before the meeting drew criticism.

 "We would have liked to have discussed this seriously and objectively and feel that this is a snub to the upper house of parliament," said SPÖ deputy leader Roland Meisl. A casual reply from Housing Minister Martin Zauner (FPÖ): "There was simply no other way." He feels misunderstood: "First everything went too slowly and now it doesn't fit again."

There are also clear fronts when it comes to transport. The Greens want the state to continue with the construction of the trade fair and the revitalization of the Stiegl-Bahn despite the S-Link cancellation. On the other hand, Black-Blue is clearly not fully occupied with state issues and is also concerned with the city. The coalition is annoyed that the Neutor barrier is to remain in place beyond the festival construction site. The ÖVP and FPÖ have tabled a motion to deal with the barrier.

Survey shows ÖVP and FPÖ almost on a par
A new "Bezirksblätter" poll had already raised eyebrows earlier in the day. In the survey of 502 respondents, the ÖVP (30 percent) and FPÖ (29 percent) are practically on a par. For the blue party, this is a nice gain of more than three percentage points compared to 2023. The opposition is losing across the board, with the KPÖ losing the most, down to 9%. According to the survey, the SPÖ is at 17% and the Greens at 7%. The only party with a plus besides the FPÖ: the Neos, which would reach 6 percent.