At the beginning, the Chancellor criticized the handling of information persons and called for a reform of the rules of procedure. As the first parliamentary group, it was the turn of the ÖVP, which gave Kurz the opportunity to give broad and sometimes extensive answers with some general questions.
- Read a live blog at the bottom of the article
After the ÖVP had exhausted the first two hours of the interview, procedural judge Wolfgang Pöschl criticized the sometimes general questions from VP mandate Klaus Fürlinger. After about two hours, it was the turn of the SPÖ, parliamentary group leader Jan Krainer.
Already in his opening statement, Kurz had not kept his back on the mountain with his criticism: At the beginning of the U-Committee, many had expected to shed light on the events surrounding the Ibiza video – “this hope has not been fulfilled”. Rather, the chancellor criticized the fact that scandalization and the disgrace of political competitors are the order of the day, who is now “worried about the political discourse and political culture in this country”.
According to Kurz, he still believes that a committee of inquiry “could” basically “be” a good parliamentary control instrument. Its abuse not only harms the institution, but also democracy as a whole, he said. A reform that could change that is now the task of Parliament. With regard to the investigation against him because of false statements in his last interview a year ago, Kurz said that he had replied “to the best of his knowledge and belief”.
Trial judge Pöschl initially confronted Kurz with a chat between ex-Novomatic boss Harald Neumann and the then VP Vienna boss Gernot Blümel, in which he asked for an appointment with Kurz and addressed a tax problem in Italy. He followed these allegations through the media, so Kurz, who once again stated that the federal party had not taken any donations from the gambling company since he was federal party chairman. In addition, all donations were duly reported to the Court of Auditors. “I can rule out that I met Mr. Graf (Johann, Novomatic founder, note) about donations.”
To the video
Under his aegis, the People’s Party also deliberately let donors sign that they should not expect anything in return, explained Kurz. He could not remember that anyone ever wanted to combine a donation with something in return: “Because then I would have thrown him out at the door.” In general, the majority of ÖVP donors have always been small donors. “From my point of view everything went correctly.” It is also absurd to believe that someone close to him would be willing to throw his life away for the ÖVP to receive a donation, and that he himself does not benefit from it at all. That must be “a solid sucker”, so Kurz.
The PremiQuaMed donation, which totaled 50,000 euros and was made in two tranches in December 2017 and June 2018, was also discussed by Pöschl. The trial judge wanted to know from Kurz whether this could not be seen in connection with the amendment to the Private Hospital Fund Act. He understood that this could be questioned, said the Chancellor, but he could not imagine that this was linked to something in return or that such was expected.
Positions in ministries were also discussed. Of course, people are used that are known and trusted, argued Kurz. And of course it is also discussed in coalitions. Without agreements on nomination rights, the political system would not work. This is also the case with the appointment of constitutional judges. However, questions about personnel are actually marginal issues in government negotiations, emphasized Kurz.
Fürlinger wanted to know whether Kurz had ever inquired about the status of the Ibiza investigation. With the suspended section head Christian Pilnacek or senior public prosecutor Johann Fuchs, he never spoke about the Ibiza investigation. In general, contacts with Pilnacek were “very rare” and, as far as he knew, he had never had any contact at all. “I couldn’t remember that I had ever received any information about Ibiza,” said Kurz.
Fürlinger also inquired about the shredding cause. All allegations against the employee of the Chancellery are “absurd”. Kurz indirectly accused political opponents and critics of being “happy” that the employee had felt this way. But those should think about what it means to be picked up with the police and to be in the reporting for years. “As far as the destruction of printer hard drives and other things is concerned, it is so that this is a completely normal process,” said Kurz. His predecessor Christian Kern (SPÖ) also “had it shredded”. Things that are “not relevant” or “personal” are shredded.
Before the questioning, an anonymous complaint against the Chancellor had caused a stir. According to information from the Ministry of Justice, Kurz is examining a complaint alleging attempted coercion or blackmailing representatives of the Catholic Church by threatening to abolish tax privileges in 2018. It is about those chats in which the informant Kurz and the former Secretary General in the Ministry of Finance, Thomas Schmid, talk about giving the church “full throttle” because of alleged tax privileges.
At the beginning of his questioning, Kurz announced that he would of course make use of the right of refusal if questions concern possible investigations or charges. SPÖ parliamentary group leader Jan Krainer had previously feared that Kurz would refrain from reporting the statement and suspected the ÖVP was behind it. This should give Kurz, who has not yet commented on this cause, the opportunity to refuse.
