Austria’s former chancellor is defending himself in court against the accusation of making false statements. It’s also about spicy chat messages – to which Kurz provides his own interpretation.
Austria’s former chancellor Sebastian Kurz vehemently denied the allegations in the trial on suspicion of making false statements.
The statements made by the public prosecutor’s office were made before the Ibiza committee of inquiry in parliament. Kurz said in court in Vienna that the atmosphere at the time was characterized by great aggression on the part of the MPs: “They simply wanted to destroy me.” Therefore, some of his statements may have been “not perfectly worded.”
Kurz also said that his influence in the appointment of his confidant Thomas Schmid as head of the state holding company ÖBAG and in the composition of the ÖBAG supervisory board was clearly overestimated by the public prosecutor’s office.
Kurz and the ÖBAG post
According to the indictment, Kurz is said to have been crucially involved in the top personnel around ÖBAG. In several answers to the investigative committee, he gave the impression that he was only informed but not involved, according to the prosecution. It comprises 108 pages and is also directed against two of Kurz’s confidants. They are also accused of making false statements. The proceedings against a defendant are to be discontinued upon payment of a fine of 104,000 euros. However, the public prosecutor’s office can still appeal against the judge’s decision. The offense carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison.
In this case, chat messages that Kurz and his confidant Schmid sent to each other also received particular attention. According to the indictment, Schmid thanked Kurz for installing him as ÖBAG boss. Kurz wrote to Schmid: “You’ll get everything you want anyway.” Schmid replied: “I love my chancellor.”
Short’ interpretation of the Chat messages
Kurz now addressed this news in court. With “You’ll get everything you want anyway,” he wanted to tell Schmid: “Get your fill of it.” Because Schmid, whom Kurz portrayed as a busybody, wanted additional supervisory board positions. Kurz kindly rejected this greed with his message. Schmid’s answer, “I love my chancellor,” was a joke. Schmid understood him.
As evidence of his limited knowledge of the events, Kurz pointed out that it was only five days after the nine-member ÖBAG supervisory board was finally appointed that he proposed a candidate for the board, namely the former German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg. If he had really been intensively involved, he would not have pointlessly mentioned a name after the committee had already been put together, argued the former head of government.
In short, the victim?
Kurz feels he has been treated unfairly. He suspected that not everyone was equal before the law, he said. He knows of no case in which a comparable suspicion results in a 108-page indictment with 30 interviews with witnesses. He said that “something like this wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t been Chancellor.”
It is certain that the process, initially scheduled to last three days, will last at least until the end of the year.
With information from Oliver Soos, ARD Studio Vienna