There are no strangers who currently have to appear in the large courtroom of the Vienna Criminal Court about twice a week.
There is René Benko, for example, one of the five richest Austrians, who is also causing a stir in Germany with his real estate and retail projects.
Or Michael Tojner, who owns, among other things, the traditional German battery manufacturer Varta.
They are accused of having bribed a politician in order to be able to influence large building projects in Vienna through him.
Enlarge image
The industrialist Michael Tojner during a break in the trial in Vienna
Photo: IMAGO/photonews.at/Georges Schneider / IMAGO/photonews.at
That politician is not a representative of the ÖVP and FPÖ, which have recently been permanently suspected of corruption in Austria, and also not a politician of the SPÖ, which is almost omnipotent in Vienna – but a former Green party of all people: the long-standing member of the municipal council Christoph Chorherr.
The Greens have always campaigned for the fight against corruption and their commitment to the common good in public housing.
Charity projects in South Africa
However, the case is not entirely simple, but above all morally complicated.
Chorherr is not accused of having enriched himself personally;
he is said not to have received a job offer from Benko (as the former Secretary General of the Ministry of Finance, Thomas Schmid, claims) nor to have collected party donations or holiday invitations.
Rather, Chorherr had been involved with social projects in South Africa since the end of apartheid and founded the association S2Arch in the 2000s, which financed schools and their operations in South Africa.
More and more investment bankers and real estate entrepreneurs were interested in this project, and donations totaled millions.
In its indictment, the business and corruption prosecutor's office linked the individual donations to very specific construction projects in Vienna, such as imposing high-rise buildings or a business center at the new main train station.
Since the beginning of November, Chorherr and nine entrepreneurs have had to answer in court.
Insights into the network of the super-rich
Even before the indictment was filed, Chorherr had admitted that he should have resigned from his position as chairman of the club when his party leader Maria Vassilakou became deputy mayor and planning councilor in 2011.
However, he denies having any influence on approval processes for real estate projects.
Enlarge image
Green politician Maria Vassilakou
Photo: CHROMORANGE / Franz Perc / imago images / CHROMORANGE
The first days of negotiations have not made the picture much clearer so far.
However, they provided unsavory insights into the network of the super-rich, including among the Viennese Greens.
From the point of view of the corruption prosecutor, e-mails and chats found, for example, with entrepreneur Tojner show how attempts were made to influence the Greens.
Tojner wrote to Christoph Dichand, the editor of the Kronen Zeitung, that one should not "campaign" against Chorherr.
However, the process is a bit bumpy: First, there was a violent blunder in the indictment of the corruption prosecutor's office, in which Chorherr was wrongly referred to as a planning councilor and attributed him so much more power than he actually had.
Last week, a substitute judge claimed that one of the professional judges was biased.
However, the court rejected the application for his exclusion.
Enlarge image
René and Nathalie Benko: There is a lot at stake for entrepreneurs in particular
Photo: Patrick Steiner / GEPA / IMAGO
So it remains exciting, the negotiations will probably last until spring 2023.
There is a lot at stake for René Benko in particular: he is also a suspect in another corruption case, which has already attracted the interest of German supervisory authorities.
All of the accused deny the allegations, the presumption of innocence applies.
Social media moment of the week
Last week, for the first time, a work of art in Austria was damaged by activists from the last generation – or at least its protective pane.
Namely Klimt's "Life and Death" in the Leopold Museum.
This is also causing heated debates within politics.
In any case, the green safety spokesman Georg Bürstmayr has a clear opinion.
Stories we recommend you today:
“Justice is not entertainment”:
Lawyers Roland Kier and Norbert Wess represent suspects in high-profile proceedings.
The two evaluate media work completely differently.
Why the Kapfenberg football stadium is named after an SS man:
Since 2001, the stadium has been named after former SPÖ mayor Fekete, who was a member of a notorious SS unit.
The "interpretation" of the human rights convention must be discussed:
"No one in the ÖVP" ever wanted to shake the ECHR, says European and Constitutional Minister Karoline Edtstadler.
However, a "realistic interpretation" is necessary.
Sincerely
yours, Fabian Schmid, Deputy Head of Department Chronicle & Domestic Policy, DER STANDARD
