Today, on Friday, the top officials of the Lower Austrian Farmers’ Association met for a major election analysis. In the State Farmers’ Council, the highest body of local farmers’ associations, the focus was also on the demands made on the next federal government. Lower Austrian Farmers’ Association Chairman LH-Deputy. Stephan Pernkopf set the tone: “We stand for clear language, hard work and down-to-earth motivation. So now a clear analysis and then immediately get back to hard work for the farmers. In a nutshell, this means: more agriculture and less paperwork – in all areas.”
Clear red line on property taxes
This is particularly important for farmers in Lower Austria, as Chamber of Agriculture President Johannes Schmuckenschlager confirms. It is precisely these excessive regulations that cause a lot of effort without any visible added value. That’s why de-bureaucratization is key in all areas: “Our farmers are confronted with more and more laws, standards and, above all, bans. This massively restricts farm work and endangers security of supply.”
With regard to the handover of the business to the next generation in the farming families, Schmuckenschlager is ready to fight, especially when it comes to the current demands in the area of property taxes: “Our families deserve respect and support and not new taxes. As a farmers’ association, we are clearly setting a red line here. With us there will be no such additional burdens. On the contrary, the coming federal government must not come up with the idea of trying to save money from the farmers or to get something. It must immediately work to adjust EU agricultural funds for inflation and thereby secure farmers’ livelihoods and security of food supply.”
The EU funds from the common EU agricultural policy have still not been adjusted to inflation. Austria has already acted here, with the support of the federal states. This model, the farmers’ association demands, must now also be implemented in the EU Commission. This is an important and necessary compensation for the significant additional burdens on farmers in recent years.
Strong election campaign among the farmers
Lower Austrian Farmers’ Association director Paul Nemecek praises the intensive election campaign of the Lower Austrian farmers and their unrelenting commitment with creative ideas: “Our members gave everything and made a decisive contribution to maintaining first place in Lower Austria. 100 harvest discussions in the summer months during the intensive harvest season, 20 large landscape elements – one in each district – and the XXL advertisement by the Farmers’ Association Youth for Klaudia Tanner on a field in the Waldviertel led to an enormous online and media response as well as strong mobilization. All of this was rewarded with a good preferential vote result for the candidates of the Lower Austrian Farmers’ Association, who even did better compared to the sensational National Council election in 2019. Going against the trend in the federal and state governments – that is an extraordinary achievement and a real ray of hope. Thanks to everyone who contributed here!”
This assessment of the strong election campaign is also confirmed by a current Demox analysis. In Lower Austria, almost two thirds of farmers voted for the ÖVP – more than the national average for Austrian farmers and more than twice as much compared to the overall result of 30 percent for the ÖVP in Lower Austria. This was a crucial building block for the ÖVP to maintain first place in Lower Austria.
OTS ORIGINAL TEXT PRESS RELEASE UNDER THE EXCLUSIVE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SENDER FOR CONTENT – WWW.OTS.AT | AIM