Austria’s former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has been found guilty of making false statements before the Vienna Regional Court.
The public prosecutor’s office had accused Kurz of telling untruths before the parliament’s Ibiza committee of inquiry. There he is said to have downplayed his influence in appointing his confidant Thomas Schmid to the top of the state holding company Öbag. Specifically, the question was whether Kurz was simply informed or involved in top personnel. Schmid himself had stated that Chancellor Kurz ultimately had the say in all personnel issues and had the right to veto in all crucial issues.
Before the verdict was announced, it was considered very likely that it would be challenged by either the defense or the prosecution, meaning that the proceedings would go to the next instance.
Kurz, who now works as an entrepreneur after his resignation and fundamental departure from politics at the end of 2021, has always emphasized his innocence. From 2017 to 2019 he headed a coalition between the ÖVP and the right-wing FPÖ. This alliance collapsed over the Ibiza affair, which also raised questions about how susceptible the Austrian government was to corruption. From 2020 to 2021, Kurz then led an alliance between the ÖVP and the Greens.
The public prosecutor’s office accused Kurz of having denied in the Ibiza investigative committee in June 2020 that the move of the then Secretary General in the Ministry of Finance, Thomas Schmid, to head the state holding company Öbag had been discussed with him in detail. He was “informed” but not “involved,” Kurz responded harshly to MPs’ questions. One reason for this could be that Kurz had always promised the citizens a “new style” without the nepotism that is quite common in Austria.
Aside from the current trial, the ex-chancellor is threatened with a second trial in the so-called advertising affair: the then head of government and his team are said to have used taxpayer money to pay for fake surveys. They are also said to have hoped for well-meaning coverage by advertising in various media. The investigation into suspicion of bribery, corruption and breach of trust is underway against a total of ten suspects.