The second of three days of budget debate in the National Council ended on Wednesday with the subjects of agriculture / tourism and education. In the social and health chapter, the morning had essentially revolved around the areas of corona, care and pensions. On the latter issue, the SPÖ and FPÖ in particular campaigned for a greater increase in salaries, while the NEOS called for reforms to contain costs.
In the agricultural and tourism sectors, the opposition saw the government barely prepared for the current fourth corona wave. Department head Elisabeth Köstinger (ÖVP) preferred to talk about the promotion of rural areas, the challenges posed by climate change or broadband expansion. When it came to tourism, she noted that it was hardest hit by the pandemic. The finance department is responsible for the corresponding aid fund, which is why this is not reflected in the tourism budget. Köstinger’s ministry has around 3.4 billion euros in 2022, around 104 million euros more than this year.
Education Minister Heinz Faßmann (ÖVP) can also look forward to increases in his sub-budgets. 10.2 billion euros are set for the education sector, that is an increase of 3.1 percent. 83 percent are planned for personnel costs in the broader sense. EUR 306.4 million have been reserved for measures to deal with the COVID-19 crisis. In addition to provisions for face-to-face teaching, i.e. antigen and PCR tests, masks and disinfectants, this includes the continuation of the funding hour package – too little for the opposition. Science and research experience a budget increase of 6.8 percent. Additional funds will go primarily to the universities, which will receive 268 million euros more.
In view of the rather strong increases, the budget chapters Home Affairs and Defense also caused little excitement. Interior Minister Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) was confronted with accusations from different directions in the refugee policy. The Ministry of the Interior’s budget increase is 2.3 percent. Most of it is devoured by the anti-terror package, for which 60 million have been reserved and which Nehammer has also extensively recognized.
The defense chapter dealt, among other things, with responsibility for the armed forces’ investment backlog. While the SPÖ and ÖVP blamed each other on this, department head Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP) saw the problem addressed. It highlighted the 2.713 billion euros budgeted for 2022, a record amount with an increase of 40 million euros compared to 2021.
In the morning, Minister of Social Affairs Wolfgang Mückstein (Greens) had listed various priorities in his budget, such as measures for the psycho-social health of young people, the expansion of protection against violence and a focus on people with disabilities. With regard to pensions, he emphasized that small payments above the inflation rate would also be increased in the coming year. In the health chapter, for example, he promised to double the number of primary care facilities by 2026.
While Corona was not assigned a leading role in Mückstein’s speech, the opposition focused on the pandemic. The management of this is namely miserable, said NEOS mandate Fiona Fiedler. As a result, 1.3 billion would be needed again to overcome the crisis and the crisis will last longer in this country than elsewhere.
The liberal health spokesman Gerhard Kaniak, on the other hand, was surprised at the 120 million euros reserved for vaccine procurement if Austria only then gave away the vaccine again. At the same time, Kaniak identified a lack of funds for staffing the hospitals. SP health spokesman Philip Kucher once again insisted on extending the corona bonus to include emergency services and external carers, for example.
VP health spokeswoman Gabriela Schwarz preferred to concentrate on the areas in which budget priorities will be set for the coming year. So there will be more cash points for psychotherapy and efforts to expand the country doctor positions.
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