Conference of State Premiers in Innsbruck: Mattle Wants to Present Joint Position of the Länder

Mattle is pursuing a clear goal: "Ziel sei es, Positionen zu definieren und diese dann gemeinsam nach außen zu kommunizieren und zu vertreten." Specifically, he named the topic areas of health, education, energy as well as administration and constitution. A unified Länder proposal in these areas had previously failed to materialize, as Mattle conceded. The conference in Innsbruck is now to create the basis for this.

Reform Partnership in Focus

A significant role on the agenda is played by the "Reformpartnerschaft", which had been proclaimed in June 2025. This should be brought back more strongly into the center of interest, emphasized Mattle. Especially during the federal budget negotiations it had become "ruhig um die Reformpartnerschaft", it was said from the state premier's office. Now, however, he senses a clear endeavor on the part of the federal government to place a strong focus on the reform partnership.

It is planned that the state premiers will first deliberate "untereinander" on the current subject of negotiation in the reform partnership as part of the conference, in order to subsequently ensure the "geordneten Dialog" with the government. At the end of June, they then want to come together in Vienna within the framework of the reform partnership and continue the negotiations in order to "Fortschritte zu erzielen", as Mattle formulated. His endeavor had been to achieve "Fortschritte in dem ganzen Prozess" in the first half of the year.

Health as a Focus Area

Here, "Versorgungssicherheit" is essential, not "Kompetenzdebatten." Health is considered one of the dominant topics of the meeting. Already last weekend, the health state councillors had apparently agreed on a "gemeinsamen Position zur Zukunft des Gesundheitssystems", in which they spoke out, among other things, in favor of a merger of financing and responsibility. Most recently, Mattle had also spoken out in favor of a "Finanzierung aus einer Hand" in the health system. He has shown in the past months since taking over the state premiers' chairmanship a "hohe Aktivität", also as regards the health sector.

In addition to health policy questions, the conference also deals with administrative and constitutional reform. The "positive Abschluss" of the targeted administrative or state reform is then, as announced when the reform partnership was proclaimed in June 2025, to take place at the end of this year, thus already under Vorarlberg's chairmanship in the Conference of State Premiers. The conference in Innsbruck is to provide the necessary framework for this. However, this, like much else, is "keine Absolutposition", as Mattle assured.

Administration and Constitution

It had been striking that reform proposals in the past months were "vor allem aus den Ländern und weniger aus dem Bund zu hören waren." However, this had been "verständlich" in view of the budget challenges, Mattle himself conceded. Reference was made, for example, to the "Tirol-Vorarlberg-Positionspapier" right at the beginning and most recently to Mattle's proposal for a possible health reform, which he presented in Vienna.

In the run-up to the conference, Mattle also sent a clear message in the direction of federal politics. "Deshalb breche ich eine Lanze für den Föderalismus", said Tyrol's State Premier. Decisions should be made "wieder näher bei den Menschen". Austria is successful when "wenn der Bund den großen Rahmen vorgibt und die Bundesländer und Gemeinden den Freiraum haben, um auf regionale Gegebenheiten einzugehen." After all, the political decision-makers in the federal states are "nahe an den Bürgern". "Ich bin fest davon überzeugt, dass die Bundesländer die Spitze der Veränderung sein müssen."

Plea for More Federalism

Unlike at some state premiers' conferences of the past, no federal or government representatives will be invited to the conference in Tyrol. "Diese habe man bewusst nicht eingeladen", Mattle made clear. This decision had drawn criticism in advance, with Mattle reaffirming this stance. The background was an earlier discussion round in which a representative had spoken of the "skurrilsten Abend in seiner Amtszeit", because at the state premiers' conference "weniger verhandelt als gegessen und getrunken wird." What followed was largely indignation among the state leaders.

In the evening, Tyrol's State Premier officially opens the conference with a "Landesüblichen Empfang" at the Landhausplatz, with riflemen and a brass band included. The state premiers seem to have plenty to do apart from the reform partnership: more than 20 items are on the agenda. Mattle did not want to assess in advance the chances of an actual agreement, but was confident: "Ich bin durchaus optimistisch, dass uns das gelingt."

Outlook on Vienna Meeting

Should it succeed in formulating a joint Länder position in Innsbruck, this would be an important signal to the federal government, which, according to Mattle, wants to devote itself again more strongly to the reform partnership. The coming weeks until the Vienna meeting at the end of June are therefore likely to show whether the Länder can convert their announcements into concrete resolutions. With the subsequent Vienna meeting and the planned completion of the administrative and state reform by the end of the year under Vorarlberg's chairmanship, central framework decisions are on the agenda in any case.