Chat revelation in Austria: How the FPÖ wanted to bring the ORF in line

Other WhatsApp chats show how politicians from the former governing party FPÖ wanted to influence public broadcasting in Austria. An editor-in-chief of the ORF has already left the station.

If journalists from the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” together with reporters from the news magazine “Der Spiegel” hadn’t made the “Ibiza video” public at the time, Austria might be a different republic today – with a different public broadcaster. We remember: Heinz-Christian Strache, then Vice-Chancellor at Sebastian Kurz and party leader of the right-wing populist FPÖ, dreamed in a finca on Ibiza how he would bring the media, especially the ORF, in line – similar to Viktor Orbán in Hungary succeeded there in television and radio.

ORF news broadcast reveals chats

The “ZIB” has now revealed how close the FPÖ may have come to this goal three or four years ago. The “Zeit im Bild”, the respected news flagship of Austrian broadcasting – which lost its TV editor-in-chief on the same day, shortly before she was about to voice his distrust. Everything is related to everything.

The business and corruption prosecutor’s office in Vienna has been evaluating chats from suspects very successfully for some time. Heinz-Christian Strache’s smartphone is one such source. A swamp that keeps throwing interesting bubbles.

ORF editor-in-chief had to go

For example, a chat was discovered by Matthias Schrom, ORF2 television editor-in-chief, who was startled shortly before midnight by the then FPÖ Vice-Chancellor Strache because he didn’t like the news. Schrom recommended Strache to those actually responsible. A storm of indignation broke out in the ORF.

Schrom, who was also considered by many to be a good editor-in-chief, gave up before he was given up: “Personally, I’m incredibly sorry and it really hurts, because it was a great honor to work with this editorial team,” says Schrom, emphasizing that he sees otherwise no way to bring peace back to the editorial office.

“Devastating”, the impression said Roland Weißmann, ORF general director since January. He now has to worry about the journalistic reputation of the ORF, Weißmann says: The resignation was correct – and important: “I pay him respect for the work of the past four years, which was impeccable,” says Weißmann, but also refers to the independence and the credibility of the ORF, which would have made this step necessary.

“Somebody has to be kicked out!!!!”

There are other chats. A group of FPÖ friends exchanged ideas in a WhatsApp group on how to get a right-wing populist grip on the ORF. Key figure: Norbert Steger, previously FPÖ Vice-Chancellor and FPÖ party leader – but at that time (2018/19) he was Chairman of the ORF Foundation Council. This is the ORF’s powerful supervisory body, which is essentially made up of the Austrian federal government, the state governments and the parliament. Steger chats on WhatsApp how the FPÖ could be helped, at ORF:

Roland Weißmann, who was then approaching the post of general director, is described in the chats as a “correct black man”, sponsored by the ÖVP. In other words, the FPÖ also distrusted him. Considered antidote: walling in the alleged newcomer to the ORF leadership with FPÖ confidants. Strache chatted on WhatsApp:

Works councils should abandon voting rights

Two or three central ORF posts for the FPÖ. But that wasn’t enough for Steger, he wants to tear down another firewall:

Dieter Bornemann is the chairman of the ORF editorial board. Somehow he still smiles friendly, repeats the well-known demands of the journalists in the public broadcaster: “If the chairman of the ORF foundation board writes in all seriousness that ORF journalists have to be kicked out so that the reporting on his party becomes friendlier, then a red line has been crossed,” said Bornemann. That is “dangerous in terms of democracy and politics” and shows that the ORF committees urgently need reform.

Bornemann is not alone with this demand. The goal is less party influence at the ORF. Even if the ORF law, program guidelines and an editorial statute are very good dams. You could also formulate the demand differently: Please don’t have the declared enemy of the public ORF in your own house.