Erstellt am: 1. 10. 2010 - 14:52 Uhr

Vienna Elections: the SPÖ

R-E-S-P-E-C-T rules, says Mayor Michael Häupl, and economic recovery should focus on education and innovation

In the last of the Reality Check series looking at the parties contesting the Vienna elections, Kerry Skyring speaks to Mayor Michael Häupl of the SPÖ. Like most of the other parties, education comes at the top of the SPÖ list of priorities. Doesn't this suggest the mayor has not been doing a good job on education? In reply, Häupl identifies school and university education as one of the vital elements of recovering from the economic crisis: “wir wollen uns nachhaltig aus dieser Krise heraus investieren.” He lists other key issues as including research, technology and innovation. Kerry points out specific criticism such as crowded classrooms, or students having to be taught in containers to which Häupl responds “das ist typisch Wahlkampf”, stressing that the city government is investing €600 million in school facilities and that containers, which he describes as “durchaus geeignet”, are used as an interim solution during building work.

APA/HERBERT NEUBAUER

The SPÖ campaign slogan about “clear rules for living together”, explains Häupl in response to the suggestion that it implies new rules are needed, refers to the basic principles of respect and consideration which should apply at an individual level as well as in various groups and the entire community of Vienna: “wir sorgen daher dafür, dass es auch passiert”. And what if the SPÖ loses its absolute majority – with whom would it form a coalition? “Ich arbeite hart dafür, dass wir diese politisch stabilen Verhältnisse in Wien ... entsprechend erhalten ... daher gilt dem meine ganze Energie, mein ganzer Fokus ... über alle anderen Dinge spricht man nachher“.