Kurz Under Investigation
Austria's anti-corruption authorities suspect the chancellor may have lied to a parliamentary investigative committee looking into the Ibiza affair
Servus!
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is currently under investigation by Austria’s anti-corruption authorities, the WKStA, over possible false statements made to the parliamentary investigative committee looking into the Ibiza affair. Kurz has not been charged by the WKStA—currently undertaking a sweeping investigation into ties financial and political between the ÖVP and FPÖ, the international gambling giant Novomatic, and the partly state-owned casinos operator Casinos Austria—and he remains innocent until proven otherwise.
The WKStA’s investigation concerns a sitting of the Ibiza committee at which Kurz appeared in June 2020. Kurz was asked whether he had been involved in the decision to appoint Thomas Schmid, secretary general in the finance ministry, head of Austria Holding PLC. In the sense that he was kept informed, yes, Kurz said. Kurz was subsequently asked if he had ever spoken to Schmid about the post prior to the moment Schmid informed him that he wanted to apply for it. No, Kurz said: It was widely known Schmid was interested in the position and that he was qualified to take it.
These answers perked the interest of the WKStA for Schmid’s messaging history, which they obtained as part of their investigation, shows that he was in contact with Kurz and now-finance minister Gernot Blümel regarding Austria Holding at a time when Kurz’s party, the ÖVP, was at work transforming it from a private into a public limited company. Schmid was, the WKStA’s records indicate, intimately involved in this process down to the writing of his own job description and selecting members of Austria Holding’s board.
According to the WKStA, prior to the 2017 general election, Kurz had given Schmid the task of handling the topic of the state’s holdings in future coalition negotiations. In November 2017, Schmid reportedly sent Kurz an proposed organizational chart for Austria Holding, writing that the FPÖ, with whom they were negotiating, supported their proposals. In late July 2018, he reportedly texted Kurz asking for a meeting to talk about Austria Holding, a request Kurz accepted, proposing an August 22 date.
The WKStA suspects, it would seem, that Kurz lied before the Ibiza committee about Schmid’s installation as Austria Holding PLC’s head and the extent of his involvement. In a special sitting of parliament Monday, Kurz denied lying, saying he had spoken about this matter “to the best of his knowledge and belief.” Turning the tables, he accused the committee itself of being interested in “defamation” instead of the truth. As previously covered, flooding the zone has been a major part of the ÖVP’s response to the WKStA’s investigation into the ‘casinos affair.’
You may have seen a news report about Kurz’s troubles in recent days which began: “The political future of Austria’s high-flying chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, is in question…” This is not a statement of fact but rather a subjective judgment, one written more in hope than expectation. Kurz has no intention of resigning for so long as he is only under investigation, and his party is circling the wagons. If charged, Kurz will likely try and tough it out, leaning on the presumption of innocence. Were an election held tomorrow, the ÖVP would run a populist campaign painting Kurz (and by extension his voters) as the victim of a parliamentary and judicial witch hunt—and polls show they would win.
With the opposition by definition a minority in parliament, the only force in Austria that can call Kurz’s political future into question is his coalition partner. For now, the Greens are remaining true, voting down motions of no confidence in Kurz and Blümel in parliament Monday. Only if Kurz is charged may the equation change. At that point, the Greens would have to ask themselves: Is eco-minded tax reform and subsidized train travel enough to stomach sitting in coalition with a chancellor under indictment and a party undermining Austria’s constitutional order?
Bis bald!
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