Severe weather can damage politicians and put governments under pressure. But what can politics actually do to prevent flooding?

Will the devastating severe weather of recent days have political consequences? Will it become a political issue just weeks before the election? It certainly wouldn't be the first time that extreme weather events have shaped an election campaign. The once-in-a-century floods of 2002 brought an end to the first black-blue coalition government.

The government at the time wanted to delay a planned tax reform in order to free up funds for disaster relief. However, then FPÖ patriarch and Carinthian Governor Jörg Haider insisted on pushing ahead with the tax reform, just one year before the Carinthian state elections. The FPÖ fell into internal conflict, and the party's government team resigned following a special party conference in the Styrian town of Knittelfeld. Then ÖVP Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel subsequently called a snap election.

Benedikt Narodoslawsky in conversation with Markus Leitner, expert in climate change adaptation at the Environment Agency Austria, and meteorologist (Weatherpark) and CCCA board member Simon Tschannett. 

Available to read at derstandard.at.