Graft probe reaches into the highest levels of Austria’s government

[Syt]

So Chancellor Kurz is being investigated for potentially having lied under oath in the Ibiza parliamentary inquiry (he said he wasn't in the loop about ex-finance ministry official Schmid getting the board seat in a state holding until shortly before it happened, and had no influence on the decision, whereas the recovered chat messages between him and Schmid paint a completely different picture).

[Syt]

While the chancellor is busy campaigning in the media to gain sympathy ("the investigation tries to entrap you into contradicting yourself", "my mother is so saddened"), the time is running out for the running parliamentary inquiry. With the ÖVP playing delay tactics, time is running out - after June, no additional evidence can be collected, and till autumn the members of the committee must finalize their reports.

The opposition parties are in favor of extending the investigation as each round of interviews seems to dig up more - and worse - dirt.

Question was how the Greens would vote. They announced today that they would not vote for extending the investigation which seems to spark, let's say, an unhappy reaction among their supporters (and some members).

The Greens campaigned with the slogan "Who would your sense of decency vote for?" with a still image from the Ibiza video. In the past they had a reputation of fighting for transparency and investigating corruption charges no matter what.

They are in a shitty situation. As junior partner in the government coalition they've pretty much failed to implement any of their signature promises that made it into the coalition agreement (obviously Covid didn't help). Numerous times ÖVP ministers (ministers in Austria act quite independently within the government) set actions that run counter to Green policies, with the Greens protesting only in the meekest way to avoid a public break in the coalition. When they were asked if they could still work with a party where numerous members (including ministers and the chancellor) are investigated for criminal activities they said that this would be evaluated if any of those cases make it to court.

Regarding the ongoing investigative committee Sigi Maurer who leads the Greens in parliament said that the opposition are free to launch a new one ... however, this would take until March next year at least (they have to wait till the current committee finish their reports etc.). All evidence of the current investigation has to be destroyed at closure, so any material would have to be requested again.

At the same time, breaking the coalition would likely not help the Greens, either. The ÖVP sits comfortably at 35% in polls, the Greens meander between 15% and 10%. ÖVP could form a government with FPÖ, SPÖ as they did in the past, or even the NEOS if they get enough votes (they have overlap with ÖVP especially in economic questions, though NEOS are stronger proponents than ÖVP of small government, fewer regulations, privatizing public companies including base necessities etc.).

My guess is that the Greens hope that the ÖVP scandals will lead to the ÖVP falling out of favor and Kurz resigning, but I find this unlikely.

[Syt]

An older picture by Sigi Maurer is making the rounds again, originally posted by her as response to internet hate (of which she got plenty):



Seems a lot of people feel that finger is directed at them and the fight against corruption at the moment.

[Syt]

Well, this is still ongoing and escalated last week:

https://www.ft.com/content/7a93f36b-1605-4a0d-b059-514f622fb4df

Austria 'grand corruption' probe widens across media
Ex-chancellor Sebastian Kurz suspected of seeking positive political coverage

Austrian prosecutors are investigating whether former chancellor Sebastian Kurz bribed the owners of the country's biggest newspaper for positive political coverage.

Police raided premises across Vienna on Thursday, including those of the publisher of the mass-market tabloid Kronen Zeitung and the free sheet Heute.

The state prosecutor for economic crimes and corruption said that its continuing high-profile investigation into "grand corruption" in Austria — which has so far snared 45 individuals at the pinnacle of Austrian business and politics — had expanded to encompass potential charges of embezzlement and bribery in the media industry.

Investigators said they were exploring fresh evidence over whether Austrian officials and politicians, including Kurz, conspired to use public funds to take out adverts in the widely-read newspapers in exchange for positive political coverage.

The prosecutor's office is also probing if politicians agreed to amend laws concerning corporate foundations — a special holding structure favoured by rich Austrians — to suit the controlling owners of the Kronen Zeitung and Heute, the super-wealthy Dichand family.

Kurz was forced to resign in October 2021 as the first details of a criminal investigation against him emerged.

The initial probe concerned allegations that a key confident, Thomas Schmid — a former senior official in the ministry of finance — had directed ministry funds to pay for adverts in the online news portal "Österreich" in exchange for positive coverage of Kurz as he rose to the chancellorship.

In an explosive development to the case, Schmid turned crown witness last October. His phone, which contained thousands of sensitive communications between government officials, had initially triggered the investigation when it was confiscated as part of a separate probe.

Schmid subsequently provided investigators with hours of witness testimony against Kurz and other senior politicians and officials in the conservative People's party.

A spokesperson for Kurz said that the prosecutor "has been continuously making new, false accusations against numerous individuals, including Sebastian Kurz" for several years. "All cases that have been heard in court so far have ended in acquittal. This case will be no different."

Allies of the former chancellor have long contended that the investigation is political and have sharply criticised the prosecutors' office for sensationally publicising information on its case before any charges have been brought. Kurz has also himself cast doubt on the reliability of Schmid as a witness and denied he played a key role in his political team.

The Dichand family could not be reached for comment. Eva Dichand, the editor of Heute, wrote on Twitter that there was no substance to the allegations.

"Thomas Schmitt's [sp] statement that I would have agreed positive reporting in Heute and Kronen Zeitung in exchange for adverts is simply WRONG," she wrote. She argued that a former ally of the ex-chancellor was trying to play up allegations to justify his "star witness status" in exchange for leniency over existing charges made against him.

The investigation into corruption in the Austrian media establishment has so-far snared ten individuals and three companies. But it is only one leg of a sprawling nexus of cases known as the "Causa CASAG" that began as an inquiry into political favours in the gambling industry.

The prosecutor's office has 45 open dossiers which include figures such as the property billionaire René Benko, the owner of London's Selfridges department store. Prosecutors have conducted 40 raids on companies and private properties in the past two years.

Meanwhile, the FPÖ continues to lead in all recent polls (next federal elections are ca. in Fall 2024):



It's not so much that they offer better solutions. Or any solutions. It's an expression of deep dissatisfaction with the current government (ÖVP and Greens) and the SPÖ failing time and again to exploit ÖVP scandals and weaknesses (they're now going through a protracted, nasty fight for party leadership), making them seem ineffectual. The FPÖ, despite losing Strache and Hofer, capitalize by being against, well, everything that comes from the government, but offer no alternatives. Which fits their party leader, Kickl. He's the remainder of the party's old triple leadership, and by far the nastiest (though arguably the dimmest) of the three, not very popular outside his supporters, and elections could turn into an "anyone but him" scenario for a majority of voters.