According to the Documentation Archive of the Austrian Resistance (DÖW), its owner is said to be a “relevant head of the extreme right”. Also from ooh. ÖVP government circles are likely to have received orders of more than 19,000 euros from the agency, reported “Der Standard” online on Thursday.
The former governor Josef Pühringer and the former state councilor Doris Hummer (both ÖVP) and the “Health Department of the State of Upper Austria” are said to have awarded five orders, it was said. According to the state, these and those of the FPÖ were issued between 2012 and 2020: “We assume that the clients – especially those from far back – acted to the best of their knowledge and belief,” the ÖVP referred to a statement by the state press service. “There have been no more active orders since 2020, it was concluded. The head of the agency said in the “standard” that he had received his first orders from the ÖVP. “It was only afterwards that I was able to apply for orders from the FPÖ with these references advertise.”
Greens criticize “cheating around”
SPÖ state manager Florian Koppler ruled “shocked”. When the contracts were awarded, it was already known that the agency’s owner was anchored in the right-wing extremist scene. “It’s a disgrace to give tax money to a person who is even classified by the DÖW as a relevant head of the extreme right,” he said.
“For years, people have been bricking in response to inquiries and beating around the bush,” the Greens are annoyed. “It is urgently time to reorganize the country’s public relations work,” Green Club chairman Severin Mayr commented on the “recent revelations”.
“Profil” published last fall that the entrepreneur had received advertising orders from the state government. A written statement by the state press service at the time stated that each member of the state government had their own advertising budget that they could freely dispose of. At that time, the black, red and green members of the government had ruled out placing orders with this company.
Eypeltaur demands transparency
NEOS club chairman Felix Eypeltauer subsequently asked Governor Thomas Stelzer (ÖVP) about this matter. At the end of March, it was said that the blue-run departments had awarded orders totaling 140,492 euros. The largest chunks came from the departments of the former state councilors Elmar Podgorschek (53,000 euros) and Wolfgang Klinger (44,238 euros). EUR 34,674 went to the agency from the department of Deputy Governor Manfred Haimbuchner, and EUR 8,580 from that of State Councilor Günther Steinkellner.
“In addition to the ideological proximity, we are also critical of the free flow of money at such a level,” criticized Eypeltauer and called for more transparency: “The public must know who is being commissioned by the state government and what the members of the government are spending tax money on.”
Source: Nachrichten
