01/15/2023 05:00 (act. 01/15/2023 05:00)
ÖVP-Mair does not rule out a coalition with Kickl-FPÖ. ©APA/EXPA/JOHANN GRODER
Tyrol’s new ÖVP security adviser Astrid Mair does not rule out a possible coalition between the ÖVP and the FPÖ under party leader Herbert Kickl after the 2024 national elections – in contrast to some of the top black representatives of the federal government. You have to “keep all options and alternatives open,” Mair said in the APA interview. In terms of asylum, she called for negotiations between the ÖVP and the Greens on switching from cash to in-kind benefits.
It is “important to talk” and “not to close ourselves off from the talks from the start”, Mair did not want to rule out the possibility of a renewed black-blue or blue-black coalition: “People come together when they talk. ” In 2024, the cards would be reshuffled, with several potential options. Other voices from the federal ÖVP about a possible renewed coalition with the FPÖ were raised last year. Chancellor Minister Karoline Edtstadler ruled out such cooperation under the chairman of the federal blue party Kickl and he justified this, among other things, with the growing radicalization of the FPÖ.At the state level, the governor of Tyrol and leader of the state ÖVP party, Anton Mattle, ruled out a coalition with the state FPÖ ahead of last year’s state elections.
Mair doesn’t care much about polls that consistently put the Freedom Party at number one. “The polls are instantaneous”, said the 41-year-old coach, who also justified the FPÖ’s demoscopic escape with the current “times of multiple crises”.
The ÖVP saw Mair well positioned despite some comebacks. The party’s chancellor and federal chairman, Karl Nehammer, is doing a “great job”. “I think about him a lot. Not only is he very knowledgeable, he is also constantly curious,” said Mair, who worked in then-Home Minister Nehammer’s office in 2020.
In the coalition with the Greens, one can refer to a “completely successful work”. However, Mair, an outspoken representative of a more restrictive course on asylum and migration, pushed for rigor in this area. Unfortunately, the nation-state currently has little power, despite a large number of illegal migrations – and at the EU level there is not enough protection at the external borders or “setbacks” at the external borders of the EU. “But in a national state, unattractiveness is the key to success,” the state councilor urged to take measures that would make it less advantageous for people from India, Afghanistan or Pakistan to leave for Austria.
In this sense, her party friends in the federal government must enter into negotiations with the partner of the green coalition, urged the councilwoman. “You have to start with people in primary care in the sense of saying: you reduce benefits. That means in concrete terms: no cash in hand, just receiving benefits in kind.” Because basic care now means “delivered at the baseline,” Mair argued. That means a roof over your head, something to eat and drink, and clothes to wear. In the future, the benefits should be limited to all this – on the assumption that this will make it less attractive for those affected to leave for Austria in search of a “better life”.
At the same time, Mair also urged asylum seekers who have been in the process for three months and those eligible for asylum to start working more quickly. They must be brought into the labor market for ‘cheap jobs’, for example as harvest helpers or for unskilled work in the food trade – and then when no other workers are to be found. “There is potential,” said Mair with conviction. It is known, for example, that since the first migratory wave in 2015/2016, around 36 thousand people entitled to asylum have already had access to the labor market. This should be used because it is not understandable that many do not work due to their long stay in Austria and continue to live in state accommodation. In addition, there needs to be a better flow of communication between the Federal Office for Migration and Asylum (BFA) and the regional AMS, according to the state councilor, also responsible for the employees.
In view of the currently hotly debated topic of “climate glue”, the former commander of the Kufstein district police supported the advances of Lower Austria governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner (ÖVP) and Tyrolean head of state Anton Mattle ( ÖVP), after more severe penalties. Mattle spoke in an interview with the APA this week “well done for a tough road.” You have to research what other ways, also in criminal law, exist. “These are illegal actions that do not fit into the assembly system,” explained the 41-year-old State Security adviser. She also has “zero understanding” of why the taxpayer must pay for operations arising from the shares.