"I'm old enough": Van der Bellen advertises himself - and teases Kurz and Co.
Created: 05/23/2022, 17:05
By: Janine Napirca
Federal President Alexander van der Bellen is running again for the presidential elections in Austria.
© Martin Juen/Imago
The incumbent Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen is running for a second term.
He advertises his mature age.
Vienna – There have been many different Federal Chancellors in Austria recently.
The current Federal President, Alexander Van der Bellen, has been in office since 2017 and, if he has his way, wants to remain in office for a while.
Ironically, his age is a decisive factor.
"I'm old enough for this office," said the 78-year-old on Monday (May 23) in Vienna, according to dpa, teasing ex-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.
In times of Corona and war, life experience is particularly important.
According to a report by Der Standard
, Van der Bellen feels
more mature for the post “than five years ago when I was a comparatively young chump”.
Van der Bellen: "Beware of all people who have simple recipes"
According to dpa, Van der Bellen spoke of unexpected challenges that Austria was facing and, in addition to the Ibiza affair, mentioned the corona pandemic and the Ukraine war.
"Beware of all people who have simple recipes," he warned when running for a second term as Austrian President.
Austria will have to reckon with high energy costs: "Our price for democracy"
“The price of freedom will be paid first of all by the Ukrainian people.
But we also pay a high price,” said Van der Bellen.
As a result, energy costs would continue to rise.
These are the economic sacrifices made as a result of the sanctions against Russia and, according to Van der Bellen, "our price for democracy".
Van der Bellen starts the election campaign with big goals
In the presidential elections planned for autumn 2022, the incumbent Austrian President is taking big goals with him.
According to him, "for ourselves and our children" we have to save the planet, as
Der Standard
quotes him.
I wish that girls can grow into a world where equality is a matter of course.
Alexander Van der Bellen, President of Austria
But he also wishes for more gender equality: “I wish that girls can grow into a world in which equality is a matter of course.
To achieve this, we all have to contribute something together.”
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Van der Bellen: He can expect support from these parties in the election campaign for the presidency
As a former chairman of the Greens, Van der Bellen can count on the support of the Greens.
On the other hand, according to
Der Standard
, the SPÖ and Neos have also announced that they will support the incumbent Austrian President – at least ideally.
The ÖVP also wishes him all the best - but without giving a recommendation for his choice.
Only the FPÖ wants to nominate its own candidate for the 2022 presidential elections in Austria.
However, it is not yet known who will face Van der Bellen.