Saturday, January 09, 2021
Corona chaos in Austria
Kurz 'coalition is in crisis into the anniversary
By Christian Bartlau, Vienna
The next Corona breakdown in Austria: The vaccination start is jerky, Chancellor Kurz intervenes – at the expense of his coalition partner. Symptomatic of the relationship that is likely to become even more difficult in 2021.
There used to be more tinsel when Sebastian Kurz had a government anniversary to celebrate. In December 2018, Austria's Federal Chancellor invited to the Vienna Hofburg to celebrate the "paper wedding" with the FPÖ, as the then Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache flowily put it. The relationship shouldn't last long, six months later a clear home video of Strache and a "schoaf" Russian woman appeared. Kurz decided to change partners.
The one-year anniversary of the new coalition with the Greens passed without a specially scheduled press conference and flower gifts, which is hardly surprising in view of the pandemic. Only the social distancing between the two partners has more political than health reasons: There is a crunch again in the alliance between Kurz 'ÖVP and the Greens, which was set up to implement the "best of both worlds" but has been called upon as a crisis manager since spring . And it gives an increasingly poor picture.
"That is pathetic"
Apart from the Ischgl disaster, Austria made it through the first wave in spring, but then the "light at the end of the tunnel", which Sebastian Kurz spotted at the end of August, turned out to be an oncoming train: at the beginning of December, excess mortality was 59 percent and thus higher than anywhere else in the EU except in Poland and Bulgaria. More than 6400 Austrians have died with Corona so far. The number of infections has dropped from almost 10,000 per day to around 2000, but the now third lockdown does not even bring the incidence close to the important 50 mark – Austria is in the international headlines because the ski areas are allowed to open.
The consistency with which the government served the interests of the so-called lift emperors is lacking in other areas: not even the education minister can say when the schools will reopen. The mass tests, arranged by Kurz single-handedly, stayed away from the masses, only a quarter of Austrians were tested. Seniors are still waiting for the promised free FFP2 masks, the corona traffic light shines unnoticed.
The government wanted to break the pandemic knot with the vaccination, live on television: Chancellor Kurz and his Green Minister of Health Rudolf Anschober personally attended the first vaccinations at MedUni Vienna on December 27th, the ORF broadcast a special broadcast. Since the staging, little has happened. Nobody knows exactly how little, Austria has no current data. As of the middle of the week, only around 7,000 people had been vaccinated, since New Year's Eve a total of 700, although 60,000 doses would be available – Austria is one of Europe's latecomers. "We do not have an adequate pandemic plan and no plan for mass vaccinations," criticized the President of the Carinthian Medical Association, Petra Preiss. "This has all been made up in the last few weeks. [That] is pathetic."
Slogans and symbolism
In an interview with ntv.de, political scientist Kathrin Stainer-Hämmerle also made a harsh judgment about the government's course: "There are always projects that are announced but then not carried through. There is a certain infatuation with slogans and symbolism." It is easy to see on Epiphany, when the unrest in the country also gripped the Federal Chancellery – Sebastian Kurz suddenly announced that he would not roll out the vaccination on January 12th as planned, but from now on: "Vaccination is about speed and human life. So there is no reason for vaccination doses to be stored for weeks. "
That both the government vaccination officer and a senior official with the important-sounding title of "Chief Medical Officer" had just told the media pretty much exactly the opposite – minor matter. That the Chancellor makes a name for himself at the expense of the responsible Green Minister of Health Rudolf Anschober – almost routine.
Corona suddenly pushed Anschober into the spotlight from a supporting role, which Kurz is reluctant to share. Again and again the Chancellor takes his own measures and rushes ahead – whether in his meetings with the "Smart Countries", to which Austria self-confidently belonged in the first wave, or in the mass tests, of which he did not even inform Anschober's ministry in advance. On the other hand, he liked to attach the vaccination failure to the Greens, the message ÖVP tourism minister Elisabeth Köstinger was able to deliver on ORF: "I expect the health minister to vaccinate the available vaccination doses as soon as possible." A one year old present looks different.
Climate protection yes, refugee protection no
The Greens are likely to have got used to the tough pace of the ÖVP by now, from the beginning turquoise-green was constructed as a marriage of convenience, otherwise Sebastian "Balkanroute" Kurz and the Refugees Welcome Party could not come together. The coalition's motto, "The best of both worlds", means that in case of doubt both sides have to swallow toads – the bigger ones end up on the green plate: The Greens have to nibble at Kurz's categorical refusal to accept refugees from Moria. "That's the big downer," says political scientist Stainer-Hämmerle. The Greens could have pushed through other projects: More money for the judiciary, a nationwide public transport ticket and Co2 pricing, for example.
The question, however, is what remains: The small steps towards climate protection? Or the powerlessness around Moria? A green party that votes against the admission of refugees with a right-wing conservative partner – this naturally arouses heavy criticism on social media. The party leaders insist on their coalition rationale: We are preventing worse – that is, renewed cooperation between the ÖVP and the far right of the FPÖ. The core clientele still seems satisfied, in surveys the Greens are stable at around 15 percent.
Briefly unchallenged
The Chancellor's party ÖVP could have counted on an absolute majority in the spring, Kurz had approval ratings on the Chancellor question like his favorite enemy Markus Söder in Bavaria – meanwhile the values have normalized at a high level. The Chancellor also benefits from the weakness of the opponents: Most surveys show a high level of dissatisfaction with the work of the government in the crisis, but neither the SPÖ nor the liberal Neos have been able to build something like a powerful opposition. The FPÖ is still struggling with Ibiza.
Kurz won his election campaigns with vague promises of reform and slogans such as "Time for something new". The expert Stainer-Hämmerle cannot say what the Chancellor's lighthouse projects are: "I am still wondering that." The Constitutional Court has since overturned some of the promised projects from the coalition with the FPÖ – including the headscarf ban, the cut in social assistance for foreigners and the security package. What remains are tax reforms and neoliberal restructuring of social security.
In the coalition with the Greens, the substantive work has so far been almost completely neglected due to Corona. In one point, however, the ÖVP can be relied on: "In terms of refugee policy, Kurz remains on the clear line that he always had." There has not yet been a break, but the cracks will get bigger in the new year, predicts Stainer-Hämmerle: "The tensions will really become visible when the billions from fighting the pandemic have to be saved again." Rumors of new elections regularly waft through Vienna – so it cannot be ruled out that turquoise-green will no longer experience the second anniversary.
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