The people in Upper Austria feel the burden of inflation and rising costs every day. While the average gross salary of Austrians is just around 2,790 euros, our state politicians continue to make extensive use of the tax coffers – and are also approving a hefty salary increase for 2025. At the forefront: the FPÖ Upper Austria under Manfred Haimbuchner, which continues to approve salary increases year after year instead of sending a sign of solidarity.
While the federal government is pushing through a zero wage round for politicians, the black and blue parties in Upper Austria as well as in Vorarlberg and Salzburg are stubbornly refusing to take this step. They argue with phrases such as the alleged “self-devaluation of the profession of politician” – as if the already princely paychecks of around 19,000 (LH-Deputy) or 20,000 (LH) euros gross per month were not enough to maintain their “value”.
FPÖ: Opposition in Vienna, cashier in Upper Austria
“It is completely unacceptable that politicians in Upper Austria line their pockets year after year while people suffer more and more from rising costs,” criticizes Manuel Krautgartner, MFG-OÖ club chairman. “The FPÖ is showing its true face here: big speeches in Vienna, but cashing in in Upper Austria.”
Explosive: FPÖ federal leader Herbert Kickl has clearly spoken out in favor of a nationwide zero wage round and wanted to implement this in the federal states too. But his deputies Manfred Haimbuchner (Upper Austria) and Marlene Svazek (Salzburg) don’t care about this course. They are apparently too busy trying to further inflate their bulging wallets. For Haimbuchner, who earns a whopping 19,150 euros gross per month, there is no renunciation in sight, even with inflation. He prefers to stay in the comfortable company car – with a chauffeur – which he uses for a symbolic amount of a maximum of around 700 euros per month. A privilege that average earners can only dream of.
This is not politics for the people – this is self-service!
“If politicians like Haimbuchner and Stelzer cannot even bring themselves to make a symbolic gesture like the zero wage round, that only proves one thing: they have long since lost their grip on the ground,” Krautgartner continued. “We finally need an honest and people-oriented policy – and that’s what the MFG stands for.”
It’s a slap in the face to all honest taxpayers. Politicians like Haimbuchner and Stelzer, who present themselves in public at every opportunity as people-oriented, are showing their true colors with this salary increase: aloof, greedy and far removed from the reality of life of people in Upper Austria. What kind of signal is this to a society that is struggling with inflation, rising rents and stagnating wages?
The MFG – the only alternative to the aloof political class
The MFG stands for honest politics, free from self-interest and aloof self-service mentality. We represent the people – not our own wallets. While the FPÖ Upper Austria turns out to be an extension of the system, the MFG is the only alternative for those who want real change and honest politics.
It’s time to put aloof professional politicians like Haimbuchner and Stelzer in their place. A political shift is needed – towards a policy that focuses on people, freedom and fundamental rights. The MFG is pursuing this path resolutely and without compromise – as the only party in Upper Austria that consistently opposes the aloof political class.