Live from the U-Committee? Now the ÖVP is also in favor of it

Serial rejections by respondents and endlessly long debates on the rules of procedure at the expense of question time. These were problems in the last investigative committees (on the Ibiza affair and on VP corruption, note). Since then, the opposition and the Greens have been calling for live broadcasts in order to counteract tactical maneuvers through direct pressure from the public. VP General Secretary Christian Stocker is now ready to talk.

The ÖVP has wanted to examine “red-blue abuse” in various ministries since 2007. The Chancellor’s party’s previous line was that they only wanted to talk about live broadcasts as part of an overall reform of the U-Committee law. National Council President Wolfgang Sobotka (VP) also wanted to question the duty of truth for those providing information.

Stocker could now imagine live broadcasts from U-committees, as he emphasized on ORF. He does have concerns when it comes to witnesses who are not public figures. However, it would be better if statements were transmitted directly in order to prevent distorted reproduction afterwards.

A ball that FP General Secretary Christian Hafenecker takes up: “There are two corresponding motions in the Rules Committee.” VP club chairman August Wöginger, as chairman, only has to call the meeting and the way for a fire would be clear, said Hafenecker. But he believes in a “pure diversionary tactic” from the Sobotka case.

SP leader Andreas Babler also stated that his group would “immediately support” a request for live broadcasts. Like Stocker and Hafenecker, Babler wants to ensure that the basic rights of those providing information who are not in the public eye are protected. A line that is also shared by Neos and the Greens. In their “COFAG-U Committee”, Red and Blue want to shed light on the “preference given to billionaires” when awarding Corona aid.

U-Commission until Friday

The investigative commission is slowly taking shape, which is supposed to deal with the statements of the late justice section chief Christian Pilnacek on a secretly recorded tape recording. It’s about Pilnacek’s accusations against the ÖVP and especially Sobotka that they put pressure on him to stop investigations. Justice Minister Alma Zadic (Greens) wants to announce by Friday who will take over the chairmanship and what the exact review order looks like.

Green MP Barbara Neßler took Sobotka to court more harshly than her party leadership. “If he had any decency, he would have resigned for a long time because of the large number of allegations,” Neßler accused Sobotka of clinging to his office “like a king” and massively damaging the reputation of parliament.

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