Upper Austria’s Green Regional Councilor and deputy federal party spokesman Stefan Kaineder wants Chancellor Sebastian Kurz to “take a step aside” in order to clear up the allegations of corruption together with the public prosecutor. That would be the “easiest solution” and the government could continue to work as before, he said in an interview with the APA.
He reckons that the ÖVP will wake up from “its paralysis” and act accordingly in the interests of the state. “Because of the seriousness of the allegations,” it is simply impossible to continue as before, “said Kaineder.
Carinthian Greens sees Kurz’s guilt as proven
Olga Voglauer, the state spokeswoman for the Greens in Carinthia and deputy club chairwoman of the Greens in the National Council, once again made a clear statement on the matter to the APA on Friday: “The development is now that the 400-page parent file is understandable, that the allegation of corruption is clearly hardened. Tax money was diverted here, that’s a fact. “
It could not continue like this: “Here, the people involved are still in leading positions. The ÖVP will have to take on responsibility. It is not possible to continue to hold on to this team, because it cannot withdraw from its responsibility.” The problem is clearly the Chancellor himself.
“From our point of view, the ÖVP has to nominate a person capable of acting, I don’t see that one can go on like this.” The unstable factor is short, said Voglauer. “The ÖVP needs someone new to lead the ÖVP into the future. First, Mitterlehner pushed his party leader away and now it has almost led the third government to the cliff.”
Tyrolean Greens: Allegations weigh too heavily
The top representative of the Tyrolean Greens, Gabriele Fischer, also considered Kurz “as the first man in the state” to be neither “capable of action nor sustainable”. The allegations were “just too serious” for that. Kurz has “caused a lot of instability in the last four years”. Two governments have been dissolved prematurely, the third government is “on the brink because of the ongoing new investigation results for a year,” wrote Social Councilor Fischer in a statement on APA request. The ÖVP should “put national responsibility above the blind allegiance”, she recommended and underlined: If the ÖVP “should turn down this path of responsibility, then alternatives will become inevitable”.
Daniel Zadra, part of the Vorarlberg Greens dual leadership and club chairman in the state parliament, told the APA on Friday that the official damage caused by Kurz was so massive that the ÖVP now had to take on “state political responsibility”. “It would really be the task of the ÖVP to ensure that the Federal Chancellor takes a step aside,” said Zadra. Until the allegations are cleared up – after all, it is about crimes – another, impeccable person must take over the official business, only then can the government work be continued. “The responsibility now rests solely with the ÖVP”, Zadra put the ball back, “It cannot be that the whole republic is taken hostage because of a single person – that must also be clear to the ÖVP”.
