Mikl-Leitner demands immediate aid for drought-hit farmers

Lower Austria Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner has called for immediate support for farmers affected by heat and drought, ORF reported after its Ö1 summer interview with the ÖVP politician.

The total damage to Austria’s agricultural sector has so far reached €1 billion, according to the latest figures from Austrian Hail Insurance. Continued drought is making conditions increasingly difficult for farmers.

Mikl-Leitner said Hail Insurance, which is supported by the federal and state governments, was “a first form of assistance” and a useful way to cover losses. But she said further measures were needed, including additional aid, low-interest loans and the option of deferring social insurance payments.

“I expect very concrete solutions and an approach for our agriculture,” she said.

Lower Austria is in contact with Chancellor Christian Stocker and Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig, Mikl-Leitner said. After numerous discussions, the priority was now to put an aid package on the table. Totschnig had convened a round table with farmers’ representatives for Monday afternoon.

Asked how the measures would be financed, Mikl-Leitner said the issue was not where the money would come from but how the government could help farmers. She said she could imagine using funds from Lower Austria’s budget if necessary.

On record temperatures and heat, Mikl-Leitner said efforts were needed to limit the effects of climate change while also making use of the opportunities it presented. She pointed to Lower Austria’s climate and energy plan, which has been implemented for 20 years. The expansion of renewable energy had reduced carbon dioxide emissions by more than 35 percent, she said.

“The biggest cause of climate change is still the use of fossil energy,” Mikl-Leitner said, calling for the energy transition to be advanced.

She also described as wrong a recent statement by Chancellor Stocker about childcare and care work, saying it had been important and necessary for him to apologise.

Mikl-Leitner said weak opinion poll ratings for the federal government’s performance should serve as a guide for action. People wanted less bureaucracy, lower taxes and a stronger economy, she said.

She also called for a nationwide reform of social assistance based on the stricter model used in Lower Austria. Mikl-Leitner said her party would support such a system only if it cost no more than the current model in Lower Austria.

Asked whether she would run again in the 2028 state election, Mikl-Leitner said she was willing to do so if the Lower Austrian ÖVP state party executive supported her candidacy and formally decided that she should remain governor.