Analyst sees Styrian government shifting funding towards folk culture

Political scientist Kathrin Praprotnik says the Styrian government has made its clearest mark in cultural funding, shifting support away from multicultural associations towards folk culture. ORF Steiermark reported the assessment ahead of its summer interviews with parties represented in the state parliament.

Speaking to ORF Steiermark editor Ulli Enzinger, Praprotnik, a political scientist at the University of Graz, analysed the first 20 months of the blue-black coalition government.

She said the government had fallen behind on other proposals, including institutional reform and making direct-democratic instruments easier to use.

On the budget, Praprotnik said pressure remained extremely high after the State Audit Office warned in July of a massive explosion in debt. Pressure from the federal government was also increasing because Austria wanted to leave the EU deficit procedure, she said.

According to Praprotnik, the ÖVP had apparently decided to put additional pressure on its coalition partner by bringing independent experts on board to provide advice. Because the move had apparently not been coordinated within the coalition, she said, it also gave the ÖVP an opportunity to sharpen its own profile as the smaller coalition partner.

ORF Steiermark’s summer interviews with the parties represented in the state parliament begin on August 17.