Austrian leader proposes enshrining the use of cash in his country’s constitution
BERLIN –
Austria’s chief is proposing to enshrine within the nation’s structure a proper to make use of money, which stays extra widespread within the Alpine nation than in lots of different locations.
Chancellor Karl Nehammer mentioned in an announcement on Friday that “more and more people are concerned that cash could be restricted as a means of payment in Austria.” His workplace mentioned that the “uncertainty” is fuelled by contradictory data and experiences.
“People in Austria have a right to cash,” Nehammer mentioned.
While funds by card and digital strategies have develop into more and more dominant in lots of European nations, Austria and neighbouring Germany stay comparatively connected to money. The authorities says 47 billion euros (US$51 billion) per yr are withdrawn from ATMs in Austria, a rustic of about 9.1 million individuals.
Protecting money in opposition to supposed threats has been a requirement of the far-right opposition Freedom Party, which has led polls in Austria in latest months. The nation’s subsequent election is due in 2024.
Asked in an interview with the Austria Press Agency whether or not it wasn’t populist to run after the Freedom Party on the difficulty, the conservative Nehammer replied that the get together stands for “beating the drum a lot without actually doing anything for this.”
The chancellor’s proposal, based on his workplace, includes a “constitutional protection of cash as a means of payment,” guaranteeing that individuals can nonetheless pay with money, and securing a “basic supply” of money in co-operation with Austria’s central financial institution. Austria is considered one of 20 nations which can be a part of the euro space.
Nehammer mentioned he has instructed Finance Minister Magnus Brunner to work on the proposal and plans to carry a spherical desk with the ministries involved, finance trade representatives and the central financial institution in September.
“Everyone should have the opportunity to decide freely how and with what he wants to pay,” he mentioned. “That can be by card, by transfer, perhaps in future also with the digital euro, but also with cash. This freedom to choose must and will remain.”
Freedom Party chief Herbert Kickl accused Nehammer of stealing his get together’s concepts and argued that the chancellor’s “suddenly discovered love of cash” was meant solely “to secure his political survival.”
The largest opposition get together within the present parliament, the centre-left Social Democrats, has known as for not less than one ATM in each municipality and accused Nehammer of “pure populism.”
“Even if we write the word ‘cash’ into the constitution 100 times, there won’t be a single ATM more in Austria,” mentioned the top of its parliamentary group, Philip Kucher.
