In an ORF interview with Eva Linsinger, the NEOS politician is clearly trying to maintain self-control. In this NEOS Schellhorn Report Interview, Linsinger tickles him repeatedly, but Schellhorn doesn’t laugh.
The folding bike stood in the room almost demonstratively. He sometimes cycles to work, but more often takes the subway, Sepp Schellhorn said in an interview with Report on Tuesday. A company car that was too big, a steak in Hamburg that was too expensive, and a tasteless comparison to the Nazi era, for which he apologized, have not given the Neos politician a good start in government. Added to this are internal conflicts, most recently the vote on messenger services. In a conversation with Eva Linsinger, Schellhorn, as State Secretary for Debureaucratization, is visibly trying to calm the discussions surrounding him. Linsinger tickles him repeatedly; Schellhorn doesn’t laugh, but he doesn’t lose control either.
“A party like the Neos can easily handle this,” says Schellhorn about differences of opinion within the party. “We have always opposed this club discipline.” The interviewer wants to know whether he has slipped from political star to government bogeyman.
Schellhorn, known for his healthy self-confidence, naturally sees things differently: He doesn’t find it difficult at all in the new government. He has “a standing in the business community as an entrepreneur” and finds it easy because he has “extensive expertise.” “It’s simply easy to achieve large click numbers with a politician who has a large following,” says Schellhorn.
A campaign? “I don’t know,” says Schellhorn. But he’s okay with it, “because I know how hard we’re working.”
“Large following”
Schellhorn regrets that it’s only about appearances. “If you demand austerity from the population, then they should also adhere to it themselves, right?” Linsinger asks. Schellhorn replies curtly: “Yes, I have.” The form of this was not discussed further.
How is the reduction of bureaucracy progressing? Schellhorn has held numerous discussions with companies. Not surprisingly, high energy prices are a topic of discussion. It doesn’t get much more specific than that, but rather a tossing around of buzzwords and catchy phrases: transformation, digitalization, “approval boost,” unbundling regulations, reducing subsidies, and generally “tweaking authorities to make everything easier.”
