Already last Wednesday, the Ö1 “Morgenjournal” reported on Saturday. In a “profil” poll, however, a majority spoke out in favor of Sobotka, who had been charged by Schmid before the corruption prosecutor’s office, should resign.
A survey by the opinion research institute Unique Research published in “profil” revealed that 55 percent (of the 800 people surveyed, some by telephone and some online) were in favor of the President of the National Council resigning. 17 percent thought he could remain in office. Schmid, the former Secretary General in the Ministry of Finance and ex-ÖBAG boss, had accused him in his statements to the WKStA of having intervened in two tax matters concerning ÖVP institutes – which Sobotka rejected as “lies”.
During Schmid’s questioning in the U-Committee on November 3, Second President Doris Bures (SPÖ) chaired the meeting because of Sobotka’s trip abroad. The President of the National Council has now submitted the application for a penalty to the Federal Administrative Court. He applied for a penalty “of an appropriate amount for continued unjustified refusal to testify in relation to 27 questions,” reported Ö1-“Morgenjournal”. Referring to the criminal proceedings against him, the former Secretary General in the Ministry of Finance and ex-ÖBAG boss had not answered a single question from the MPs, not even whether he was a member of the ÖVP.
Four weeks until the decision
The Federal Administrative Court has four weeks from receipt of the application to make a decision. It should also clarify how high the penalty will be. In the rules of procedure, a fine of up to 1,000 euros is threatened for unjustified refusal to testify. But it is not clear whether this applies per question or per committee day. There is no case law on this either. For this reason, Sobotka states in his letter, “the application of the penalty without numerical determination is requested”.
Source: Nachrichten
