For Hanger, the Ibiza committee of inquiry has “brought nothing but allegations, false accusations and scandals”. Krainer judged harshly, as expected. “Yes, the turquoise-blue federal government was for sale, yes, politics was for sale,” he emphasized at the presentation of the 50-page, red parliamentary group report on Friday.
After the Ibiza video was published, the focus was still on the FPÖ, but the deliveries of files had made one “completely different picture” shown. The files had shown that there was initially no noticeable communication between the FPÖ and the Novomatic gaming group. According to Krainer, the situation at the ÖVP was completely different: key representatives such as the then Chancellery Minister Gernot Blümel or the head of the finance ministry and later ÖBAG boss Thomas Schmid were “on your toes with the Novomatic”. So a gambling novella was prepared “behind the back of the FPÖ”. The FPÖ only came into play with the appointment of Peter Sidlo to the CFO of Casinos Austria.
“A state was built within the state”
Therefore, in the course of the U committee then dealt more closely with the “Kurz system”, which can be characterized, among other things, by control, power and abuse of power, aloofness and supposed inviolability, according to Krainer. The Kurz ‘environment tried to exercise control in the ministries by placing loyal employees (“You are family”) there. The “turquoise family” had founded an informal network bypassing the rule of law. “A state was built up within the state,” said Krainer. In this way, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Finance and the Federal Chancellery were enforced, but the attempt at the OeNB and the Financial Market Authority failed, according to Krainer.
Raising donations in the “American style” was also part of the system, emphasized Krainer. Major donors would have donated in pieces in order to conceal the donations for as long as possible. They then became the “biotope of the qualified”, as ex-ÖVP Vice Chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner called it. And if you were looking for positions on the supervisory board or employees, you found them there. Of course, the interests of the major donors have not been forgotten even when the law is passed.
“Didn’t finish”
Overall, it was one of the most successful committees ever, the SPÖ parliamentary group leader finds and referred to “various resignations and suspensions”. There were also initial consequences in the Ministry of Justice and on the part of ÖBAG. “I believe that the judiciary will continue to work on the files for a very long time.”
Nevertheless one was “not finished”. Thousands of files were only delivered shortly before the end of the interviews, tens of thousands had not yet been evaluated by the public prosecutor, said Krainer, who, however, would only like to think about the topics another U-Committee could address in September (“The government offers many Options”).
Krainer also spoke out in favor of the possibility of live surveys, because then the public could get an idea for itself. It might also be worthwhile to adapt the rules of procedure, because the set of rules was not prepared for a chairman Wolfgang Sobotka (ÖVP).
Hanger: “Nothing except expenses”
The ÖVP maintains that the Ibiza committee of inquiry has brought nothing other than allegations, false accusations and scandals against ÖVP government members. This assessment coincides with that of the trial judge, except for small differences, said ÖVP parliamentary group leader Andreas Hanger in a press conference on Friday. When asked about the complaint of the “daily press”, he said: “I am not a satirical project.”
The ÖVP did not present its group report to the public on Friday. This should first be dealt with in the committee of inquiry. For Hanger, however, it is clear that it was actually a “subordinate committee”. He lamented a “dramatic brutalization of political culture in Austria”, one had to return to a sensible political tone.
He criticized Kai Jan Krainer (SPÖ) and Stephanie Krisper (NEOS) in particular. They had abused the U-Committee to act out their “personal profiling neuroses”. So there would have been weeks of scandals against the President of the National Council and committee chairman Wolfgang Sobotka (ÖVP). In fact, all criminal charges have now been discontinued, and the two should actually apologize, according to Hanger.
“Oasch-Sager was the low point”
The low point of the committee was the resignation of procedural judge Ilse Huber, triggered by the “Oasch” -sayer Krispers. He also criticized the fact that all investigation files had landed in the media faster than in parliament.
The teachers for Hanger: The current constitutional order means that there are massive encroachments on fundamental rights, and this has to be reformed. Nor is it specified how the “abstract relevance” of documents for the subject of the investigation is defined, which has led to huge amounts of chat logs being submitted “when in doubt”. For the future, he would like a clear definition of the subject of investigation and a clear procedure for the delivery of files. As part of an overall reform of the procedural rules, he was once again open to live broadcasts, at least for prominent informants.
“I’m not a satirical project”
Hanger was amused by the “daily press” lawsuit, which accuses him of being in immoral competition with them because he is actually a satirist. He thinks this is a very good marketing gag and a “humorous contribution to the political debate”. He is calm about the process and has not yet decided how to deal with it. “To your specific question: I’m not a satirical project, I stick to facts,” he emphasized.
