Gruber defends airport buyback and possible SPÖ coalition

ÖVP leader Martin Gruber defended Klagenfurt Airport’s public buyback and said he could imagine continuing in coalition with the SPÖ after the next election, ORF reported on Tuesday. In an ORF Kärnten summer interview with editor-in-chief Bernhard Bieche, Gruber also discussed agricultural aid, budget savings and the state’s care debate.

Gruber described the federal government’s 240 million euro drought aid package for agriculture as the right decision at the right time. He said it was fair that all farmers would benefit from reduced social insurance contributions because virtually every farm was affected. The state of Carinthia is contributing a total of one million euros towards insurance premiums.

Gruber said there was still potential for savings in the state budget, including at district administrative authorities. Reform proposals for those offices are due to be presented in the autumn.

He called SPÖ Governor Daniel Fellner’s statement that private care-home operators should no longer be allowed to make profits irritating. “That makes it appear that profits are something immoral,” Gruber said, arguing that profits were essential in economic life and for securing jobs. If private operators withdrew suddenly, he said, thousands of people in need of care could be left without accommodation.

Gruber continued to defend the public buyback of Klagenfurt Airport, despite a decline in passenger numbers in the first half of the year. He blamed the federal air transport levy for creating a major competitive disadvantage and cited the reduction in Vienna connections by Auer as a second problem.

“Airports are not just about generating passengers, but about generating income and the operating result at the end of the day,” Gruber said. He added that the airport was important infrastructure and should continue to receive public funding and support.

Gruber said the transfer of the SPÖ leadership from Peter Kaiser to Fellner had required an adjustment. “Daniel Fellner is not Peter Kaiser, but it will work,” he said. Gruber added that he could also envisage another coalition with the SPÖ after the next election.