A government in the hands of Austria’s Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has already crumbled once before. Now it could be that time again – with Kurz as the victim. But how could things go on with the country if the Chancellor has to resign? Political scientist Sieglinde Rosenberger from Vienna with an assessment.
Austria’s Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has long been considered a political boy wonder. For many conservative politicians from Germany, the PR-savvy chancellor from the Alpine country was an idol. Kurz received praise for his policy from CDU General Secretary Paul Ziemiak, Union parliamentary group vice Carsten Linnemann and Friedrich Merz, among others. And the “Bild” newspaper was not too bad to dedicate a few languishing lines to the Austrian Chancellor. “Why don’t we have one of those?” Was the headline of the paper about the 2017 National Council election. The question was rightly put off afterwards, what actually makes the “Wunderwuzzi” so special.
The newspaper gives the answer directly: “Kurz is charming, type: son-in-law. Always friendly, calm, never seems strained. “The fact that this charming” Wunderwuzzi “has thrown the country into a government crisis is causing a stir internationally. Kurz and his party, the conservative ÖVP, are accused of bribery and corruption. They should – with taxpayers’ money financed – embellished polls in the Austrian press and influenced the reporting. Political scientist Sieglinde Rosenberger from the University of Vienna has the current situation in Austria for the stern estimated.
Professor Rosenberger, the government in Austria is currently under pressure because of bribery and corruption. Now the opposition is even planning a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. How should it go on?
Rosenberger: The ÖVP has clearly backed the Federal Chancellor. The interesting question is whether the motion of censure will only be made against him or the entire government. If it is only directed against Sebastian Kurz, all other members of the government can remain in office – including those of the ÖVP. Otherwise the current Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler would take over the business of the Greens. Most likely, an expert government will be formed. A concentration government would also be possible, but that would mean that the FPÖ co-governs and the SPÖ has spoken out against it again and again in the past.
The Greens are already looking for new coalition partners, while Chancellor Kurz rejects the allegations. At the same time he said yesterday: If the Greens want to look for a new government partner, then that is to be accepted. How is this statement to be assessed?
Kurz will not resign on his own initiative. That could be taken as an admission. However, he would and must accept being voted out. In this respect, his statement is more of a concession to democracy – even if his attitude came across as defiant. Ultimately, however, it will come down to a similar argumentation as in the new elections in 2019, when he said: “Parliament has decided, but the people will decide.” This shows his plebiscite claim again.
In view of the current situation, this seems very daring. How would you describe the Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz?
Chancellor Kurz is a young politician with an exclusively political career and no other professional experience. He is extremely power-conscious, centralistic – someone who has emancipated himself from the organizational structures of the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP). That was the condition for his assumption of power in 2017. But today, in 2021, we can see very clearly how strong his personal power environment is, how much it has the say in the various social, bureaucratic and political areas. But some media also play a role here.
Historically, this is not new. Long after the Second World War, the Austrian press was characterized by its closeness to the political parties.
In fact, political parties have run their own newspapers, such as the “Arbeiter-Zeitung” of the Social Democrats or the state newspapers of the ÖVP. Dedicated party newspapers, i.e. newspapers owned by political parties, no longer exist today. The “Oberösterreichische Volksblatt”, a Christian-social daily newspaper of the ÖVP, is the only exception. Nevertheless, there is still a very close relationship, albeit indirectly, between politics and the newspapers.
In what way?
In Austria, independent media are supported by press funding. However, a much larger proportion are made up of advertisements from the political sector, which mainly go to cheap print and tabloid media or free newspapers. The government picks out certain media houses. Many advertisements were placed, especially during the pandemic, with the boulevard being clearly preferred. This has exacerbated the financial dependency that leads to favors.
It works a little differently with the largest television broadcaster ORF. There, people are elected in management positions – by foundation councils closely related to the political parties. Who runs the state studios or the entire broadcaster depends on the balance of power in the federal government and in the federal states. The ÖVP has the greatest influence, it is represented by a majority on the foundation boards.
During Kurz’s chancellorship, there were also personnel changes in the editorial offices. The “Kurier” is now run by a short-term editor-in-chief; a member of the family who owned the “Kronen” newspaper was promoted to a supervisory board position at a public university by the government.
And why was the sheet “Austria” chosen for the embellished surveys? There are far more influential media out there.
The paper is a free newspaper that originally started as a paid daily newspaper and is widely read in urban areas, especially in Vienna. “Austria” is part of a conglomerate of various media channels, including television broadcasters. The problem with the polls is not only that they have been embellished, but that they have become the subject of reporting as such. And that they were probably financed from taxpayers’ money. There are allegations of corruption against the medium “Austria” and the allegation of corruption against the Chancellor and his environment.
What consequences could the scandal now have for the relationship between politics and the media?
Austria as a small country has a small media market. The smallness has a disadvantageous effect on democracy and politics. Everyone knows each other and that strengthens relationships of friendship and dependency. The quality media are under financial pressure. The tabloid media and advertising papers with little editorial content, on the other hand, were able to finance themselves through their proximity to politics. Not much will change in this regard in the future.
Could Sebastian Kurz stay in office on his own?
No, he can no longer do that, he needs the Greens for this. He will put strong communicative pressure on the Greens. It will be said that they are to blame if the government fails (again). The timing is extremely problematic for the Greens because they have hardly been able to implement green projects in recent years. In short, the ÖVP have an advantage in terms of communication. A large media staff in the Federal Chancellery will ensure that the question of blame for any new elections or instability falls to the Greens. The Chancellor now needs the Greens to maintain power – a new situation.
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