The consequences of the affair surrounding ex-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz are now increasingly affecting his own party, the Chancellor's party ÖVP: While in Germany all parties in the middle could fundamentally form a coalition, in Austria the ÖVP is isolating itself more and more. The coalition with the Greens was barely saved, with the resignation of Sebastian Kurz, the conservatives paid a high price for it. His successor, the new Federal Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg, now sees the turquoise-green alliance "on thin ice"; but he currently has no alternatives. If the government breaks up, there will be »4: 1«, an alliance of all parties apart from the ÖVP: SPÖ, FPÖ, Greens and NEOS.
In the Ibiza investigation committee, this 4: 1 alliance was already felt somewhat embarrassingly in the summer by a corona outbreak: More than 300 people had to be quarantined after the U-committee final party in July.
ÖVP politicians were spared, however, because the opposition and the Greens had not invited them.
The next investigative committee, which was decided last week and is to start in January, is currently simply called the "ÖVP Corruption Committee": It will probably only devote itself to the short affair and the "4: 1" will be celebrated there quite openly.
In any case, the Greens will not exercise any coalition restraint.
News about Wirecard?
The tangents to Germany will also be exciting in this U-Committee, namely in the Wirecard scandal: With the former CEO Markus Braun and the ex-board member Jan Marsalek, two Austrians are responsible for the Wirecard fiasco, both of whom were politically good in Vienna networked.
Braun, who had transferred 70,000 euros to the ÖVP, was sitting in a strange think tank of the Federal Chancellery, which the opposition will now take a closer look at.
But “Galeria Kaufhof” boss and real estate tycoon René Benko is also mentioned several times in the application for appointment to the U Committee, for example in connection with Sebastian Kurz's trips abroad and real estate deals with the federal real estate company.
Thomas Schmid and his chat messages
What is certain is that chat messages from Thomas Schmid will again play a central role in this U Committee.
The native Tyrolean spent decades in the cabinets of ÖVP ministers and became more and more powerful in the process.
He played just as central a role in Sebastian Kurz's rise as he did in his fall - the latter, however, unintentionally.
Investigators found more than 300,000 chats on a backup in Schmid's apartment, which are now gradually leading to spectacular investigations.
SPIEGEL and STANDARD portrayed Schmid as the nation's “bag bearer” and “Watschenmann”, respectively. You can find the two pieces here:
The rise of the bag carrier
Watschenmann der Nation: Who is Thomas Schmid - and why did he become so powerful?
Enlarge image
Ex-Manager Schmid (2020)
Photo: Schroetter / Eibner Europa / IMAGO
The rest of the turquoise ÖVP has long since started to distance themselves from Schmid;
for Agriculture Minister Elisabeth Köstinger he was "never in the inner circle" around Sebastian Kurz.
What this "circle", which probably also includes the new Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg, will now undertake is the great mystery of Austrian domestic politics.
It smells like that in the ÖVP an internal conflict between the old “blacks” and the new “turquoise” could soon break out.
In a joint podcast, STANDARD and SPIEGEL record why the People's Party was so appropriated by Sebastian Kurz, about the rise of the two-time former chancellor, the first episode of which was released last weekend.
Social Media Moment of the Week:
A member of the government's communications team reported - most likely unintentionally - on Sebastian Kurz's Twitter account the “first trip abroad as Chancellor” to Brussels.
The embarrassing thing: Actually, the message should have been on the Twitter account of new Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg.
Stories we recommend to you:
The breakdown of Kurz's successor Alexander Schallenberg:
The mistakes of the new head of government
The short messages come on stage: The STANDARD has had the most relevant chat messages from Schmid, Kurz and the whole troupe read by actors in cooperation with the Burgtheater.
You can find the video here:
Causa Kurz: The chat protocols, read by the Burgtheater ensemble
And so that you can get a clearer picture of the chat processes - and thus perhaps better understand why the prosecutors come to their suspicions, the STANDARD has clearly presented the previously known messages:
The most important chats of the cause Brief - documented and explained
Kind regards,
Fabian Schmid, Vice-Head of Internal Policy and Chronicle of STANDARD
And once again the note on our own behalf: You can order this briefing as a newsletter in your e-mail inbox here.