Showdown on Thursday

Wind power & economy in the focus of state politics

The Carinthian state parliament is discussing the issue again today.

(Bild: Steiner Clara Milena)

Before the showdown over wind turbines on Carinthia's mountains takes place in the first parliamentary session of the new year, the members of parliament discussed employment and the economy.

The fact that the Chamber of Commerce elections are not far off is evident from the topic of the topical hour in the provincial parliament session on Thursday. For sixty minutes, the MPs devoted themselves to the "effects of Carinthian politics on work and the economy". The situation does not look rosy, says FPÖ leader Erwin Angerer, for whom the alarm signals from the economy cannot be ignored. "Orders are falling, staff are being cut, deindustrialization is imminent!" warns Angerer, blaming the federal government as well as the provincial government. The blue party leader also took a few swipes at the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Jürgen Mandl.

While for SPÖ MP René Willegger, Carinthia is being portrayed too negatively by the opposition, ÖVP club chairman Markus Malle has figures to back him up: "The economy is stumbling worldwide, Carinthia cannot overcome this situation alone. But since 2013, our gross regional product has increased by 35 percent - compared to just 22 percent across Austria." Carinthia has also come extremely close to the Austrian average in terms of the unemployment rate: "Ten years ago, we were still a long way behind," emphasized Provincial Vice-President Gaby Schaunig (SPÖ).

Bureaucracy, energy costs, high personnel costs: these factors are cited as reasons for the tense economic situation. "Bureaucracy should organize, not prevent," demands Team Carinthia leader Gerhard Köfer, who speaks of a "jungle of regulations" and proposes that every new law should have an expiration date - and that five old laws should be deleted for every new one.

As finance officer and despite the austerity measures, Schaunig wants Carinthia to invest its way out of the economic crisis: "Carinthia has developed positively, but what kind of politicians would we be if that were enough for us. We want more!" Malle is focusing on the degressive unemployment benefit, which is currently being negotiated in the federal government, as well as incentives for those who do not look at the "work-life balance".

Landtag diskutiert

Sitzungsunterbrechung wegen Windkraft

After the topic of the economy and work, the debate turned to wind power. For Angerer, the planned amendment to the law "does not go far enough", which is why the Freedom Party would only agree to parts of it - we reported.

Differing legal views then led to an interruption of the meeting shortly before the lunch break. This is because the Blue Party wants to anchor the prohibition zones for wind turbines from 1400 meters above sea level and on alpine pastures - the Freedom Party has also prepared an amendment to this effect. For the governing parties, this would jeopardize the legal certainty of energy suppliers on the one hand, while on the other hand it would not be necessary for the time being due to the planned construction ban (valid until February 2026) included in the amendment.

FPÖ internally divided opinion
A complete, unanimous vote on the amendment to the law is therefore off the table. Article 1 was adopted with the votes of the SPÖ, ÖVP and Team Kärnten, while Articles 2 and 3 of the amendment were passed unanimously. Nevertheless, there was one four-party motion: almost all MPs agreed to a survey of the electricity demand gap in Carinthia and the development of a zoning system - only the Freedom Party was divided within the party. Harald Trettenbrein "as a Lavanttaler did not want to agree to the zoning."

Incidentally, just the day before the parliamentary session, the Viennese law firm lodged a complaint with the Constitutional Court to have the referendum on wind power declared null and void. According to the law firm, the question was suggestive.