FAQ
Status: 13.10.2021 5:58 p.m.
From the wave of searches to Kurz’s resignation: The ÖVP’s corruption affair has triggered upheavals that will continue to occupy Austria’s politics and judiciary. An overview.
What caused the tremors in Austria?
On October 6th, investigators searched the Austrian Chancellery, the Ministry of Finance, the party headquarters of the ÖVP and the media company “Austria” and seized data carriers as well as servers, cell phones and laptops. Documents and chats, some of which had previously leaked to the public through Austrian news media, had triggered the raid: on the one hand, they were supposed to prove brawls between media representatives and Kurz’s employees. On the other hand, they are relevant as evidence for criminal offenses that Kurz and his followers could have committed in this context, according to the suspicion of an investigation.
The search warrant of the public prosecutor’s office shows: Sebastian Kurz and his closest confidants are suspected of having bought positive reporting and fancy surveys for the ÖVP with taxpayers money – the Ministry of Finance was involved.
All of the accused reject the allegations. Kurz himself stated that, from his point of view, the allegations were directed against the Ministry of Finance – there was no evidence that he had steered the matter. The media group “Austria” wants to proceed retrospectively with an official liability suit against the republic against the search.
Who is being investigated – and why?
The Economic and Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (WKStA) in Vienna is investigating Kurz and nine other suspects on suspicion of breach of trust, bribery and corruption. The presumption of innocence applies to all suspects. According to the search order, these are the suspicions that are being investigated:
Sebastian Kurz, ÖVP boss and ex-chancellor
According to the search order, the “central person” in the case is briefly: All acts were committed in his interest – and he made all important fundamental decisions.
During his time as Austrian Foreign Minister, he is said to have entrusted the then General Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Thomas Schmid, with the initiation and agreement of the cooperation with the media group, about which Schmid is said to have reported to him regularly. He is also said to have persuaded ex-family minister and pollster Sophie Karmasin to take part in the creation of fancy surveys.
Thomas Schmid, EX-ÖBAG boss, previously Secretary General in the Ministry of Finance
Suspicion of breach of trust according to § 153 StGB as a participant and suspicion of bribery according to § 304 StGB
During his time in the Ministry of Finance, he is said to have initiated and concluded agreements with the accused media group on controlled reporting against advertisements – and thus accepted and in some cases also demanded an advantage for Kurz and his confidants.
Gerald Fleischmann, Kurz ‘media officer
Stefan Steiner, Kurz’s advisor, previously ÖVP general secretary
Johannes Frischmann, Kurz ‘press spokesman, before that spokesman for the Ministry of Finance
Suspicion of breach of trust according to § 153 StGB as a participant and suspicion of corruptibility according to § 304 StGB as a participant
All three of Kurz’s confidants are said to have designed the surveys commissioned and influenced the reporting on them in terms of content and timing.
Sophie Karmasin, pollster, ex-family minister
Sabine Beinschab, pollster
Suspicion of breach of trust according to § 153 StGB as a participant and suspicion of bribery according to § 307 StGB as a participant.
The two pollsters are said to have entered into agreements with the ÖVP on embellished surveys, which, according to the WKStA, were “exclusively motivated by party politics and for the (party) political advancement of Sebastian Kurz and the group of his closest confidants around him and the ÖVP federal party”. Then they are said to have issued bogus bills for it.
Wolfang Fellner, founder and editor of the media group “Austria”
Helmuth Fellner, his brother’s commercial advisor
Suspicion of breach of trust according to § 153 StGB as a participant and suspicion of bribery according to § 307 StGB
They are said to have offered and granted an advantage to Kurz and the ÖVP by publishing given editorial content in return for paid advertisements by ÖVP man Schmid. They should have made the cooperation agreements and allowed the ÖVP to influence the content and timing of the publications.
Johannes Pasquali, Vienna district politician, previously head of the communications department in the Ministry of Finance
Suspicion of breach of trust according to § 153 StGB and suspicion of bribery according to § 304 StGB
He is said to have instructed the costs for the commissioned, embellished surveys “on the basis of bogus bills” to be paid from official funds of the Ministry of Finance, which are said to have been used for this purpose inappropriately. He is also suspected of having damaged the Republic of Austria in assets “in excess of 300,000 euros”.
What threatens the accused?
On October 12th, the newspaper “Standard” reported on the first arrest in the case: It was a pollster who, according to government sources, is suspected of having played a central role in the creation of refined surveys in favor of the ÖVP. According to reports, there was a risk of blackout: She is said to have erased the hard drive of her computer shortly before a house search on October 6th. The WKSTA did not comment on the demoscopist’s arrest.
Further arrests are possible – depending on what suspicions are substantiated during the evaluation of the seized documents, charges may also follow. However, the criminal investigation will take time: The Austrian news agency APA quotes lawyers who assume that a decision on an indictment or discontinuation of the proceedings will not be made until 2022 at the earliest.
Kurz could submit an application to accelerate the procedure in his own interest, but at the earliest six months after the start of the investigation – if the legal requirements are met. It is also conceivable that, as a member of the National Council, he could invoke his parliamentary immunity. According to the assessment of the lawyers, the fact that some of the accused would like to cooperate with the WKStA as key witnesses in order to achieve a mitigation of the sentence cannot be ruled out – but Austrian criminal law also provides for hurdles for this.
And the political consequences – for the ÖVP and Austria?
So far, it is not even clear within the ÖVP whether the corruption affair has permanent personnel consequences: The media representatives Fleischmann and spokesman Frischmann are on leave for the time being. Pasquali, who heads public relations at the Ministry of Finance, also asked for his leave of absence.
Kurz himself resigned as Chancellor after days of pressure, but remains party leader. The ÖVP also appointed him their parliamentary group leader in the National Council – even before he was sworn in as a member of parliament. The fact that Kurz’s political influence is still great is shown by the assurance of the new Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg that he will “of course work very closely with him.”
Not only the opposition, but also political observers criticized: A new beginning and the thorough processing of a state affair look different. In addition, previous corruption scandals such as the Ibiza affair are still clearly remembered by the Austrians – and also not completely resolved.
The opposition parties SPÖ, FPÖ and NEOS announced on Wednesday that they would set up a parliamentary committee of inquiry to deal with all corruption allegations from Kurz’s assumption of office as Chancellor in 2017 until his resignation.