The Austrian ex-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who resigned in October, saw reason to be happy at the weekend, as he immediately announced on Twitter: The criminal lawyer Peter Lewisch, according to Kurz, had prepared an expert opinion from which it emerged that the allegations of the corporate and corruption prosecutor’s office ( WKStA) lacked any basis against his person. In his own report, Kurz was referring to a private report commissioned by the ÖVP, in which the Viennese lawyer Lewisch dealt with the suspicion that Kurz was a confidante and driving force in the complex of alleged corruption of advertisements, fudged surveys and falsified invoices, which ultimately led to his resignation. The WKStA determined against Kurz and a dozen other people on suspicion of infidelity, corruption and bribery.
The ÖVP reportedly offered the 17-page paper, which in Austria is considered an attempt to influence the judiciary and public opinion through press work, for publication at the beginning of the week. However, it had already been circulated on Saturday and was sometimes maliciously commented on. In the report initiated by ÖVP lawyer Werner Suppan, Lewisch comes to the conclusion that the WKStA decided on its own authority which advertisements served the information needs of the population – and which did not. The accusation that the Ministry of Finance, for example, had caused a correspondingly positive reporting through excessive placement of advertisements, is in truth a “socially adequate behavior that lies outside the scope of corruption”. Lewisch compares the procedure, which the investigators see as infidelity, with a theater director who makes a politically pleasing selection of plays in order to receive more subsidies.
The private report bears the logo of the University of Vienna – it quickly distanced itself
The lawyer cannot recognize any kind of involvement or complicity of Kurz. Lewisch combines his remarks with massive attacks on the public prosecutor’s office, which only asserts its allegations and insinuate processes and contexts. The WKStA is guilty of an “intolerable distortion of the facts”. Unsurprisingly, the expert finally comes to the conclusion that the suspicion against the ex-chancellor cannot be understood in any way.
In addition to his work at the University of Vienna, Lewisch also works as a consultant for a law firm from which a partner was recently appointed head of the Öbag state holding company. This is the successor of the ex-Öbag boss Thomas Schmid, who has fallen into disrepute because of his embarrassing chat messages and the advertising affair. The private expert opinion, which will play no role in future legal proceedings, was published by the constitutional lawyer together with the logo of the University of Vienna, which is clearly visible on every page. The university immediately distanced itself from this appropriation and pointed out that it was a private initiative and not that of an institution.
A few days before the meeting of that committee in the National Council, which is supposed to lift the immunity of MP Kurz so that the investigation can continue, the ÖVP presented an acquittal in its own right. Party-related media such as the platform financed by the major donor Alexander Schütz Exxpress then wrote of “panic reactions” among “ORF editors and left-wing activists” who wanted to damage the lawyer’s reputation. Also the online medium Down to business, which is operated by the ÖVP parliamentary group, rejoiced that Kurz was clearly exonerated. In fact, however, the WKStA has apparently already found a witness in the also accused pollster Sabine Beinschab who is said to have testified extensively. The investigation continues regardless of the litigation PR of the ÖVP. In short, it is said, but I still believe in his comeback; the investigation is part of an intrigue.