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Ex-Chancellor Kurz: Now the parliament is taking on the affair
Photo: ALEX HALADA / AFP
In the affair of advertisements bought with taxpayers money and fudged surveys, the opposition in the Austrian National Council requests the establishment of a parliamentary committee of inquiry. Applicants are the MPs of the social democratic SPÖ, the right-wing populist FPÖ and the economically liberal Neos. This emerges from the motion, which has the "clarification of corruption allegations against ÖVP government members" and which is available to SPIEGEL and the "Standard".
The Greens, the coalition partner of the ÖVP chancellor party, which is at the center of the affair, have not joined the motion. The designated committee members, Nina Tomaselli and David Stögmüller, however, declared: "We welcome the parliamentary clarification of the machinations around advertisements, surveys and alleged abuse of tax money." It will take months before he can start work.
The background is the investigations of the Economic and Corruption Public Prosecutor's Office (WKStA) in Vienna against the recently resigned ÖVP Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and nine other people, including advisors and followers of the ex-head of government, opinion researchers and media entrepreneurs.
It is about the allegation of infidelity, bribery and corruption.
The presumption of innocence applies to all of the above.
The corruption hunters are convinced that the focus is on a deal: According to this, state advertisements are said to have been placed in the tabloid media, paid for by the Ministry of Finance, i.e. with taxpayers' money.
For this purpose, presumably "souped-up" surveys were published, which made Kurz appear more popular.
"Do you belong to the family?"
"The Ibiza Committee of Inquiry has revealed a moral image of turquoise politics that would otherwise have remained hidden behind an expensive PR facade," says the 45-page letter from the opposition MPs. The so-called Ibiza Committee of Inquiry deals with allegations of corruption against the former government made up of the conservative ÖVP and right-wing populist FPÖ. Around two years ago, SPIEGEL and the »Süddeutsche Zeitung« triggered a domestic political crisis with the publication of the Ibiza video. Many of the current allegations and investigations have their roots in the Ibiza scandal.
The opposition MPs continue: The reality of »turquoise politics« is one »where it is about› everything you want anyway ‹, about the turquoise› supervisory board collectors ‹« and »about millions of orders from turquoise ministries to closely related to the ÖVP Company "and first and foremost the question:" Do you belong to the family? "The term" turquoise "describes the - originally" black "- people's party ÖVP, which was reoriented under Sebastian Kurz.
"The accusations raised by the public prosecutor's office and the evidence presented by it for a system of party-political misuse of public funds and structures under the leadership of Sebastian Kurz and his followers exceed all fears," the motion continues.
What we have known so far may only be the "tip of the iceberg".
In order to make it clear who is politically responsible for the fact that in recent years an "alleged system of corruption and abuse of power could become the central instrument of government policy" in Austria, the investigation must continue where the Ibiza Committee of Inquiry had to stop .
Processes between December 2017 and October 2021 are to be examined
The subject of the investigation should be the »granting of advantages to natural and legal persons associated with the ÖVP by federal organs in the period from December 18, 2017 to October 11, 2021 as well as related preparatory actions based on and from the start of the Ballhausplatz project«.
The Vienna corruption hunters are convinced that the “Project Ballhausplatz” is a plan devised years ago with the aim of making Sebastian Kurz first head of the ÖVP and then Federal Chancellor.
According to the will of the opposition, among other things, the investigation should be carried out
influencing procurement and funding procedures
influencing federal holdings
Influencing investigations and educational work
Favoring the selection of personnel
The investigative committee should therefore clarify whether, based on the »Ballhausplatz project«, »a group of people working in federal organs and belonging to the ÖVP have misused organ powers for the purpose of promoting the party political interests of the ÖVP, which might damage the state's interests was created «. The investigation should "form the basis for future legal measures to strengthen the prevention of corruption, to reduce the susceptibility to abuse in the allocation of funds and functions as well as to strengthen control mechanisms," it says in the application.
ÖVP MP Andreas Hanger criticized the opposition's move and spoke of "power politics".
Sebastian Kurz resigned on Saturday as a result of the affair.
His successor is the previous Foreign Minister, Alexander Schallenberg.
