Salzburg criticizes Vienna for the climate bonus: “pissed us off” – politics
Criticism comes from Salzburg because of Vienna’s attitude towards the climate bonus. Transport Minister Schnöll cannot understand the Viennese stance. No region benefits more from federal funds than Vienna.
Salzburg’s Regional Transport Councilor Stefan Schnöll (ÖVP) has no understanding for the criticism of the Mayor of Vienna Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) of the climate bonus. From a Salzburg point of view, one cannot understand at all why the Vienna city government feels even marginally disadvantaged, Schnöll asked the APA on Wednesday. “The Viennese excessiveness pisses us off in the federal states.”
Disadvantage for Vienna?
The turquoise-green federal government agreed on an eco-social tax reform on Sunday and presented the climate bonus to compensate for the CO2 pricing. Vienna’s mayor strongly criticizes the urban space and Vienna. He sees the fact that Vienna is the only region to receive the lowest climate bonus as a “very special appreciation”, said Ludwig, so that it is recorded in black and white that public transport, for example, is well developed here. At the same time, the categorization is also unfair – for example because people on the outskirts who would live on the other side of the municipality or federal state border get more. “That is not to be taken seriously.”
Salzburg: Federal states co-finance Vienna subway
Ludwig’s criticism met with complete incomprehension in Salzburg and other federal states, so Schnöll. “Many feelings of great unequal treatment pay attention to Vienna, after all Austrians have co-financed the expansion of the Vienna subway with tens of billions for decades, while other regions often go away empty-handed. In view of this fact, Vienna should be grateful to the finance minister and the federal states and not a wrong one through excess Stoke the envy debate. “
In the last few years Vienna had received enough funds for the expansion of public transport, now it is the turn of the other federal states, said the Salzburg State Transport Council. “Currently, around six billion euros are flowing under the earth of Vienna. Until the other federal states have received sufficient co-financing for a functioning public transport system, the citizens of us will get at least a higher climate bonus. Because in our rural areas, people are on the car reliant.”
Concentrate on public transport infrastructure in the federal states
Co-financing from the federal government for urgently needed expansion and modernization measures for the branch lines outside Vienna has been required for years, for example in Salzburg for the extension of the Salzburg local railway and the electrification of the Pinzgau railway. “Now is the time to promote the public transport infrastructure in the federal states,” said Schnöll.
FPÖ-Nepp will sue against the climate bonus
On the other hand, the Vienna FPÖ boss Dominik Nepp has no understanding whatsoever for the design of the climate bonus. In an interview with the online portal oe24, he announced a first lawsuit. Because the measure violates the principle of equality, he confronts. An individual complaint to the Constitutional Court is planned if the system is implemented in the form announced, as was explained in the Vienna FPÖ on APA request. “It is hard to see why a Viennese who has a long way to public transport on the outskirts of the city receives less climate bonus than a person living in the city center of Graz,” said Nepp in a press release.
In view of the “gas price explosion” to be expected, he also calls for the Vienna heating cost subsidy to be reintroduced. “We get countless emails and phone calls from desperate citizens who can no longer afford heating after increasing the gas by up to 60 percent.” 49 percent of Viennese households would heat with gas and, since they live in rental apartments, could not switch to more environmentally friendly forms of energy, Nepp pointed out.