Instead of counting your own children, right-wing conservative politicians should better ensure a modern family policy.
Innsbruck (OTS) – In Austria the desire to have children is decreasing. Politicians can’t think of anything other than calculating their own birth rates. A tragedy.
Until a few years ago there was talk of the “fertility gap”. This describes the gap between the desire to have children and the actual number of children. There has been a divide here for a long time. Back in the 1990s, many people wanted two children, but had fewer. Now the desire to have children is obviously already waning. The proportion of those aged 18 to 45 who don’t want one has almost doubled within just a few years. This is the result of a survey by the Institute for Family Research (ÖIF). Climate crisis, wars and inflation are three reasons for this. It is legitimate for politicians to think about this. What is extremely strange, however, is how members of the National Council in this country approach this issue. Instigated by female ÖVP MPs, this week there was a kind of competition between the parties which had the higher birth rate. Alongside the ÖVP, the FPÖ saw itself as the “winner”. Who cares how many children high-earning politicians can afford? And which party is the best “birthing machine”?
The fact is that there are many reasons for having or not having children: social, cultural, social, political, private and others. Partly intentional, partly unintentional. Young people today apparently think twice about bringing children into the world. That is their right. The fact that right-wing conservative parties, which do the least for modern, contemporary family policy, are screaming loudly for more babies is the same thing all over Europe. In any case, it will not be possible to achieve a stable number of offspring with the FPÖ as the birthing machine alone. In order for people to decide to have children, a policy is needed that ensures that parents and children are well off. Otherwise, the only option left for an aging population is immigration. But somehow nobody really wants that.
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