With the beginning of the corona pandemic, governments would have had to take drastic but temporary measures to protect the health and life of the population. Now it is time to start evaluating these measures at all levels, said Franz Schausberger, President of the Institute for the Regions of Europe, on Monday at the opening of the 17th Salzburg Europe Summit the morning’s topic: “Democracy and Freedom in Europe after Corona”.
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Schausberger in the S24 podcast interview
In a podcast interview with SALZBURG24 in the run-up to the congress that started today, Franz Schausberger also spoke to us about the connection and relationship between freedom and solidarity. Due to the increasing division in society, Corona can cost us peace – and that should be done with all our might.
Haslauer: Avoid compulsory vaccinations if possible
“The line is very, very fine,” said Salzburg Governor Wilfried Haslauer (ÖVP) about the encroachment on fundamental rights during the pandemic. In his statement, he was skeptical about compulsory vaccination: If at all possible, compulsory vaccination should be avoided, said the VP politician. “In the interest of normalizing the living conditions of vaccinated people, can the living conditions of the unvaccinated be interfered with and to what extent”, he named one of the many questions that had to be discussed. Another is how efficient our complicated democratic systems would be in a situation like a pandemic.
Chancellor Kurz with video message
With vaccination, there is a chance to defeat the pandemic and get back to normal. “The phase of restrictions was difficult for all of us,” Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) said in a short video message. It cannot be the goal of a government to restrict fundamental rights and freedoms.
Most Austrians want democracy
In Austria there is a consolidated awareness of democracy, which is stable even in times of crisis, summarized opinion researcher Alexandra Siegl from a study that has the views of Austrians on democracy during the financial crisis, the refugee crisis and the pandemic. If politics convincingly convey that they are committed to protecting dying people from the effects of the crisis, trust in democracy is also stable. If one gets the impression that politics is not in control of the action, trust falls and opens the door to authoritarian currents. In this year’s survey, 83 percent said that democracy is always better than dictatorship. Eight percent said that the dictatorship might be better, four percent didn’t care.
Hahn: “The rule of law works during the pandemic”
The rule of law in Europe worked broadly well during the pandemic, said Johannes Hahn, EU budget commissioner: “The rule of law problems that we see in some countries are independent of the pandemic.” The discussion about the tension between freedom and restrictions only exists in Europe. “I am happy about it because it is an expression of our life model”, Hahn positively. Some would have praised the speed of the Chinese system, but you have to consider that everyone there is 150 percent controlled. “Our actions are the result of the interaction of democratic processes.” Nevertheless, there was a need for better coordination of measures in Europe, the participants agreed. Also with the question of whether and when a third vaccination is necessary.
Pulling together
The high vaccination rate in Denmark would have been achieved because everyone in the public eye was pulling in the same direction and there was no political quarrel, urged European Minister Karoline Edtstadler to be more united. “The more unanimous we proceed, the more people are inclined to stick to the measures.”
In countries where society is polarized and the situation is politically exploited, the measures are difficult to adopt, “observes Slovenian State Secretary Gasper Dovzan.” It also shows that we are a role model in Europe, “said Dovzan.
(Source: APA / SALZBURG24)