Reform Partnership Struggles for Interim Results on Health and Education

NEOS chairwoman Beate Meinl-Reisinger was the most forthcoming with the press both before and around the meeting. She said, diese zu lösen ist das Ziel der heutigen Besprechung. It would become apparent, she said, whether there was the joint will to carry out the necessary reforms. Much had already been negotiated, but some points had so far remained open. For everyone, she said, it would take a view of the bigger picture. The country needed structural reforms, and Austrians expected them as well, said Meinl-Reisinger. The state had to become faster and more service-oriented.

Negotiators Remain Tight-Lipped

The other top negotiators were strikingly tight-lipped. Most negotiators, such as Chancellor Christian Stocker (ÖVP) and Vice Chancellor Andreas Babler (SPÖ), either did not appear before the media or refrained from making statements. Accordingly, restraint was also shown on Tuesday. The Carinthian governor Daniel Fellner (SPÖ) likewise refrained from announcements, as did Vienna's mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ), who represents the Association of Cities. The same applies to Johannes Pressl, who represented the municipalities.

Among the state governors, Anton Mattle (ÖVP), outgoing chairman of the State Governors' Conference and governor of Tyrol, was initially present, but did not want to preempt the negotiations. His successor, Vorarlberg governor Markus Wallner (ÖVP), did not want to commit himself on substance. Asked who should receive more competences in the healthcare system, Wallner said that for him, the interests of the patients were paramount.

Education and Health in Focus

By far the most contentious and financially significant area is healthcare. In the education sector, common solutions are likewise still being sought. One goal is to find at least nationwide uniform standards in early childhood education. Whether anything substantive would change regarding the fragmented competences between the federal government, states, and municipalities was still open.

In the healthcare sector, there is at least agreement that the management of the fragmented system of competences must be more coordinated. It is also clear that costs should be shifted away from hospitals toward the cheaper outpatient sector. The issue of "guest patients" (Gastpatienten) is also to be resolved in one way or another.

The problem so far is that none of the players in the system is willing to give up too much power. In recent days, little sense of unity has been felt. The working group leaders — Alexander Pröll (Administration), Elisabeth Zehetner (Energy, both ÖVP), Korinna Schumann (Health, SPÖ), and Christoph Wiederkehr (Education, NEOS) — were not present at the start of the round. They were to be called in during the course of the day, depending on how the meeting progressed.

Working Groups Await Their Turn

It remains unclear whether the public will be informed of the outcome as early as Tuesday. That there would be another briefing afterward is not impossible, but rather unlikely. It is planned that the party leaders will report on the results achieved around the cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

The reform partnership is the format in which the three-party coalition of ÖVP, SPÖ, and NEOS, together with the states and municipalities, negotiates structural questions of the state. At the center are questions of competences, financing, and the future organization of healthcare, education, administration, and energy.

Seated at the negotiating table on Tuesday morning were Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker, Vice Chancellor Andreas Babler, the responsible ministers, and the representatives of the states and the municipal level. The working group leaders were only to join during the course of the day to clarify technical details, provided the political line left room for it.

In the education sector, the starting position was similarly complicated as in healthcare. In the education sector, common solutions are likewise still being sought. Concrete measures were discussed behind closed doors, but prior to the start of talks, the negotiators gave no indication of packages already negotiated.

In the hospital sector, a direction was emerging toward channeling more resources into the outpatient sector in the future, in order to relieve the more expensive inpatient structures. The Gastpatienten issue is also to be resolved in one way or another, as circles close to the negotiators stated. However, agreement on the future distribution of competences remained open.

Reform Partnership as a Litmus Test

The NEOS leader made clear that reform had to tackle structures. She said verbatim, der Staat müsse schneller und service-orientierter werden. Citizens expected that problems such as long waiting times for appointments or unclear responsibilities would finally be resolved.

Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker emphasized, according to participant accounts, the necessity that all levels — federal government, states, and municipalities — had to pull together. Without a coordinated approach, reforms would not be implementable in practice.

Vice Chancellor Andreas Babler pointed out that many of the open questions had been on the table for years. What was needed now, he said, was the courage to actually change existing structures instead of merely treating symptoms.

The municipal representatives insisted on adequate funding for their tasks. Johannes Pressl, who represented the municipalities, did not speak publicly, but internally conveyed the expectation of the cities and municipalities that cost shifts downward could not go uncompensated.

Already on the evening before, circles close to the negotiators had let it be known that there had been convergences on some technical questions. Whether this would result in a concrete interim outcome, however, remained open on Tuesday morning. The working group leaders were on standby to be called in immediately if needed.

With a view to the overall constellation, the reform partnership is regarded as a litmus test for the capacity to act of the three-party coalition. If it succeeds in achieving tangible progress at least in the priority areas of health and education, this could lay the basis for further reform steps by the end of the year.

Observers pointed out that time was running short. The deadline at the end of the year was ambitious, particularly since many detailed questions had not yet been negotiated. Should the Tuesday meeting end without a concrete result, the pressure on the negotiating teams would increase in the coming weeks.