At Pulse 24 – with annoyingly long commercial breaks – positions of prime candidates were explored. Meinl-Reisinger apparently convinced FPÖ voters. The bitter Herbert Giggle probably wouldn’t have thought so.
This time, two media outlets blamed Herbert Giggle for not coming to the elephant circuit on Sunday evening. On the one hand, Pulse 24, where the FPÖ leader had already rejected an invitation to summer talks (on the grounds, among other things, that the station was too left-wing). These days he is also dissatisfied with the “Kronen Zeitung” he co-organizes with the elephant circuit. A recent online article featured a photoshopped image of Giggs wearing a type of medal that read “right-wing extremist.” So canceled it. This is now the typical reaction of the FPÖ leader, who prefers to trust his own media.
Both presenters took it easy. And during the more than two-hour debate, he repeatedly pointed out that a table was unoccupied. “Herbert Kickl wanted to do something different,” said Klaus Herrmann, editor-in-chief of “Krone”, very succinctly. He asked questions alongside Manuela Reidel from Pulse 24 (albeit much slower and more calmly than her). It is about revival, budget, migration and housing. The points of view were resharpened in a quick run: it worked well – if you ignore the annoyingly long and frequent commercial breaks.
Meinl-Reisinger convinces FPÖ voters?
Beate Meinl-Reisinger was said to be particularly persuasive. The Neos boss expressed the well-known belief that “we have to do it, we will do it” (for example on the topic of soil conservation), but more clearly sharpened his vision with words like “we’re throwing money away”. In every problem of Austria.” Savings are necessary and must be observed. However, the Pulse 24 survey carried out during the broadcast was encouraging, which said that FPÖ fans are not trusted more by Karl Nehämmer, but by Meinl-Reisinger. One would like to see the expression on her face. Or Herbert Gieglin.
The ÖVP leader was pro-government and very quiet even on controversial issues. He touted the government’s successes and tackled environmental and climate issues. He alone advocated for the internal combustion engine, with no plausible justification. And Andreas Popler? You heard less “I like” from him than usual; As usual, he was generous in distributing tax money and said that he alone would not need an austerity package as the president. Because more revenue will be added unexpectedly, for example through property tax. By the way, the SPÖ boss was very persistent in changing the terms – and terms like partnerships (in his case, male and female partners).
Green Party leader Werner Koegler was sometimes grilled. Was the structure of the elephant round particularly intended to be quick and leave little room for counterarguments and responses? Or his very, very high rhetoric? However, he also managed to squeeze in some tips. For example, against the absent FPÖ leader (“All this fuss about ‘Fortress Austria’ is going nowhere”). In the end he didn’t notice how official the discussion was. Arbitrators and politicians unanimously praised the debating culture. “If the right person isn’t there, it’s all over,” Koegler noted.