The political corruption quake in Austria makes new elections an issue. The Austrian Federal President is thus coming under increasing pressure. Corruption is “a paralyzing poison,” he said with regard to the currently smoldering corruption scandal surrounding ex-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. “It’s about democracy in our homeland and trust in democracy, which is once again being massively shaken.” But he doesn’t think new elections are justified at this point in time, he added.
The Austrian authorities are investigating the ex-chancellor and some of his closest confidants over the allegation that Kurz’s team has promoted his rise to power since 2016 through sugarcoated polls and purchased positive media reports. In return, large sums, including taxpayers’ money, are said to have been paid for advertisements.
This week, an important witness weighed heavily on the former ÖVP boss. The former Secretary General of the Vienna Ministry of Finance, Thomas Schmid, told the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption that Kurz was involved in the so-called advertising affair and knew of survey financing via the Ministry of Finance in his favor.
“We did things that weren’t right. (…) What made me change my mind was that my mother said we didn’t raise you that way; if you did something wrong, then stand by it and with all the consequences,” said Schmid after his testimony against Kurz, reports “SZ”.
Austria’s former chancellor Sebastian Kurz and the conservative governing party ÖVP are faced with ever more concrete allegations of corruption after the insider’s extensive and highly incriminating statements. “It now needs full clarification, which is to be provided by the investigative authorities,” said the incumbent Prime Minister Karl Nehammer. He referred to a 450-page protocol from the corruption prosecutor’s office that became public. In it, Kurz spoke of his former close comrade-in-arms Thomas Schmid identified as a client for tax-financed and manipulated opinion polls.
Just last week, the 36-year-old former political star Kurz basked in a more positive PR light when he completed numerous interviews on the occasion of the publication of a book about his career to date. A few days later, the affair surrounding questionable surveys and advertisements is once again the central topic of Austrian politics.
Schmid, who used to work in the Ministry of Finance and managed the state holding ÖBAG, also charged other ÖVP politicians and an entrepreneur, among other things, with alleged interventions in tax matters, which also massively increases the pressure on the current government and makes new elections an issue. A “Paralyzing Poison”.
According to the parliamentarian Nina Tomaselli, who represents the Greens in the committee, Schmid’s information has now turned known allegations into “very hard evidence”. “Of course, the coalition is burdened by the actions of the ÖVP and the people who have acted there, especially in the past,” she said.
Kurz has already defended himself on Facebook against the allegations. “All allegations against me will turn out to be false!” Kurz wrote. Schmid admitted to the public prosecutor that he had lied several times. “In the end, it will turn out that this also applies in this case,” says Kurz. His attorney announced that there was a recording of a phone call between Kurz and Schmid, the content of which contradicted Schmid’s recent statements. “This tape recording is a bomb for the current state of investigation,” said the lawyer for the Austrian agency APA. In the conversation, Schmid apparently explained to the Chancellor himself that there had been no assignment and that “they were putting together a story”.
Nevertheless, Kurz apparently expects an indictment: he is looking forward to refuting the allegations in court, wrote the ex-chancellor, who now works as an entrepreneur and as a strategic advisor for the billionaire US investor and Donald Trump supporter Peter Thiel.
The public prosecutor’s office is investigating against Kurz not only because of the survey affair, but also because of possible false statements to a parliamentary investigative committee, which also has alleged corruption within the ÖVP in its sights.
