Excerpts from the conversation:
OÖN-TV: Mr. Kaineder, in Germany there is again a government participation of the Greens with the Ampel-Coalition. What do you expect from it?
Stefan Kaineder: It is damn good news that the largest economic region in Europe is now on its way to neutrality. I do think that something great has been achieved, namely overcoming this old thinking that business and climate protection are opposites. There is now a large ministry in which precisely these two components, namely climate protection and the economy, are united. And that will certainly lead to the fact that the largest economic nation in Europe is now also on the way to climate neutrality.
How do you rate the green government policy in Austria?
In the past two years the Greens have shown at the federal level that they are actually the stabilizing factor in the republic. That is our task now, to stabilize this country in times of crisis, to also demand what is necessary to combat the crisis. This now applies to the corona crisis, but of course also to the climate crisis, the greatest challenge of this century.
How big is the share of politics in the current corona situation?
Politicians have a role model function and have to make far-reaching decisions when things get tight. That’s happened now – we’re in lockdown again. There are really only three ways to deal with this pandemic: Either we close the whole country every few months, as we are doing now. The second possibility is that 85 percent of people get vaccinated. Because this is apparently not possible in Austria on a voluntary basis, the state has to introduce compulsory vaccinations. I think that is a good idea. The third possibility is that we keep open and have no vaccination coverage. Then a lot of people will die, and that is not an option either.
In Upper Austria it was often said that such a corona wave could not be seen coming. Did you hear the warnings from the experts?
So one or two weeks before the first measures were communicated, you could hear very loudly that the stress in the intensive care units was increasing. Basically, however, what is needed is a government that always acts with foresight and, above all, one that wants to develop the country forward in a responsible manner. What Upper Austria got after this election is a black and blue government that is in ruins because it has no vision of where it wants to develop the country. This is very bad news for Upper Austria.
Should Governor Stelzer dissolve government cooperation with the FPÖ?
If he cannot get the freedom people to advertise with him for the vaccination and signal unity in the fight against the pandemic, then he has to do this for the sake of Upper Austria.
You can see the full length interview here:
Source From: Nachrichten
