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Austria's ex-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz: Always new allegations
Photo: Hans Punz / dpa
The Austrian government coalition of the ÖVP and the Greens apparently wants to stop an explosive process after pressure from the opposition.
According to a report by the Austrian "Standard", e-mails from the Chancellery should not be deleted as planned.
A member of the opposition SPÖ in parliament in Vienna had drawn attention to the deletion on Thursday.
He presented an email that was supposed to prove that all employee data in the government headquarters that are older than a year will be deleted on the server - on November 10th.
Memories of Viennese »Shredder Gate«
The date is spicy: Just a week later, the new committee of inquiry begins its work, dealing with possible corruption activities in the ÖVP around ex-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.
With the planned action, memories of the Viennese “shredder gate” were awakened, at which Kurz's personal photographer in 2019 had five hard drives from the Chancellery ground to dust under a false name.
According to "Standard", shortly before the recent raids around Kurz and his people, an email was sent to the IT department in the Chancellery: They should find a way to automatically delete all emails and calendar entries from all employees after a year .
Kurz resigned on Saturday evening under pressure from the corruption investigation against him.
Last week it became known that the business and corruption prosecutor's office was investigating the 35-year-old on suspicion of breach of trust, bribery and corruption.
The ex-chancellor's team is said to have secured his rise to the top of the ÖVP and government since 2016 through embellished surveys and bought positive media reports.
In return, large sums, including taxpayers' money, are said to have been used for advertisements.
Kurz rejected all allegations so far as "false" and refused to withdraw from politics. As a member of the National Council, he announced that he would do everything possible to refute the allegations against him. He also rejected calls for a new government without the participation of his ÖVP Ex-Chancellor back. At his suggestion, the previous Foreign Minister Schallenberg was appointed head of government.
Kurz defends himself
After his resignation, Sebastian Kurz moved to parliament as a conservative parliamentary group leader.
The newly sworn MP Kurz did not address the corruption investigation against him in his first speech in the National Council on Thursday, but defended the government's draft budget during a budget debate.
Previously, however, the ÖVP boss defended himself against the allegations in an online message.
"I haven't been criminally guilty of anything in my life," he said.
anr / dpa
