No vaccination fleet in Austria for the time being (nd-aktuell.de)
With a lottery, the federal government in Vienna wanted to “sweeten” the “bitter medicine” compulsory vaccination against the corona virus: Every tenth trick, regardless of whether it was a first or partial vaccination, should win – which would have resulted in prizes fluttering in practically every multi-person household in the country. And what kind: vouchers worth 500 euros. The trade was jubilant, even the opposition SPÖ was on board; The whole package was finally decided in a hurry, together with compulsory vaccination.
But nothing will come of it now. Although the law on compulsory vaccination has been in force since Saturday, technical problems with reporting the exceptions in the vaccination register have now become known. Much more than that: There is still no central system for recording these exceptions. But the authorities are already struggling with a flood of applications for exemptions from compulsory vaccination. In Styria, for example, additional medical officers are already being sought to process the flood of applications. The number of existing items has been increased by a third. Loud criticism has already come from the administrations of some regions that the law is simply not applicable.
Little thought was also given to the specific implementation of the lottery. The idea was to create a positive incentive. Now the project, which bears the signature of Kurz’s PR machine, is about to end less than three weeks after its decision. Officially, the federal government says it is considering a postponement of several months. The question is whether the lottery was not a PR deadborn from the start.
Because now the federal government has broken away the mainstay: the public broadcaster ORF. He refused to process the lottery through his channels and stations. Resistance comes from both management and the editorial board. This attitude is fueled by the recently known accompanying letter from the coalition agreement of the failed ÖVP-FPÖ coalition in 2019. It explicitly formulates the goal of political coloring of the media group by filling posts and legal measures such as financing from the state budget and no longer from broadcasting fees.
The will in the ORF to help the federal government in matters of the lottery no longer applies. In an open letter from the editorial board, which primarily refers to the accompanying letter from 2017 that has become known, it is now said that the liquidation of the vaccination fleet would give the impression that one is “state radio”. An impression to be avoided. The letter says: “The ORF is neither an ‘auxiliary organ of the government’ nor a political front organization.”
The payout of the lottery is also justified with legal concerns. The lawyer Johannes Zink noted with regard to the obligation to vaccinate: It would not be lawful to pay people money to comply with the applicable laws. Carrying out the vaccination fleet would thus fulfill the offenses of disloyalty and abuse of office. And Zink is not just anyone in this matter: He legally advised the state of Burgenland and the ORF Burgenland on the implementation of the regional vaccination fleet – but before the vaccination requirement was decided. Under the new circumstances, according to Zink, the implementation is simply illegal.
The federal government now has to admit that: “The talks with the ORF have shown that the ORF – due to legal concerns – sees itself unable to carry out this project or to support this project.” For the opposition, this fiasco is a godsend : Unsurprisingly, the FPÖ, brushed on total refusal, calls for the project to be buried. The liberal NEOS locate “further evidence of a lack of crisis management”. And even the SPÖ, which had a say in the lottery, is demanding “immediate alternatives.” SPÖ vice club boss Jörg Leichtfried poses the rhetorical question: “What is this government still capable of?”