Upper Austria invited people to a reception in the House of Representatives on the occasion of taking over the presidency of the Federal Council
Vienna (PK) – The federal state of Upper Austria took over the presidency of the Federal Council on July 1st and on this occasion invited people to an Upper Austrian reception in the House this evening. The new Federal Council President Franz Ebner presented the focus of his presidency to numerous guests. This will be on the topic “Future of Democracy”. Upper Austria’s Governor Thomas Stelzer, who took over the chairmanship of the State Governors’ Conference at the beginning of July, emphasized in his speech that reliability is needed in politics.
Strengthen democracy
“Democracy needs the future. The future needs origins” is the motto of the Upper Austrian Federal Council Presidency. In the next six months, the Federal Councilors will examine the influence of demographics on democracy and society and hold a study entitled “Democracy needs a future – building bridges, strengthening democracy”. The focus is on the question of how it can be possible to strengthen cooperation within society and to regain and rebuild lost trust in political institutions. An expert forum is also planned that will deal with the effects of demographic changes. In addition, international exchange should be promoted.
Federal Council as an anchor point
Nothing can be taken for granted, not even democracy and a life in peace, freedom and security, said Federal Council President Franz Ebner. Therefore, democracy must be protected and further developed. Especially in times of change, anchor points and stabilizing factors are important – and the Federal Council is such an anchor point, because it not only acts as a state and European chamber, but also as the future chamber of parliament, said Ebner. He wants to work to get young people in particular excited about democracy and to promote coexistence between generations. Because democracy needs active and committed democrats of all generations. We should work together to “build bridges instead of deepening trenches,” said Ebner.
Culture: basic climate for creativity
Upper Austria has great economic power and a high quality of life and thus contributes to the bigger picture, said Governor Thomas Stelzer. When Upper Austria appears at events, culture and especially music are always visible, because culture brings people together and contributes to coexistence. In addition, culture is the humus for new ideas and promotes a basic climate of creativity and thus innovation and progress, emphasized Stelzer. Strengthening cooperation is also a basic mission of politics and begins with the right choice of words and acceptance of the other person, said Stelzer and emphasized that, especially with a view to the National Council elections in the fall, it is also a task to advocate for reliability and reliable design.
The chairmanship of the Federal Council rotates every six months between the federal states in alphabetical order. Lower Austria held the presidency in the first half of 2024. After the Upper Austrian Federal Council Presidency ends, Salzburg will take over the presidency of the Federal Council in the first half of 2025. (End) bea
A NOTICE: Photos from this event can be found in Parliament web portal.
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