Austrian coalition government divided over migrant crisis

The federal coalition government of Austria has recently been mired in disputes over how to best tackle the migrant crisis on the border with Slovakia.

The disputes were sparked by comments of Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner of the People's Party (OeVP) who suggested building a fence at the main migrant crossing in the border town of Spielfeld.

She also discussed the idea on a German television talk show on Thursday, causing resentment within the government.

Defence Minister Gerald Klug of the Social Democrats (SPOe) Thursday denounced the idea, and instead favored enlarging the entries and exits at the immigrants gathering site in Spielfeld as well as creating more living quarters.

It was "not part of her (Mikl-Leitner's) responsibilities to do so," said SPOe party whip Andreas Schieder on Friday.

In an interview with the Kurier newspaper's Saturday edition, Austrian Vice Chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner, who is also OeVP leader, said what Mikl-Leitner had done was "absolutely counterproductive."

"It would be better to hold discussions internally first and only afterwards present a solution," Mitterlehner said.

The vice chancellor also said he could not understand Klug's "unnecessary" comments on Thursday, and that the migrant crisis could only be tackled when both parties of the coalition work together. Endi