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What happened?

Austria’s former chancellor Sebastian Kurz and the conservative ruling party ÖVP are facing increasingly concrete allegations of corruption after extensive incriminating statements from an insider.

A 450-page corruption prosecutor’s protocol was published on Tuesday, putting even more pressure on Kurz. This document describes that the ex-chancellor has ordered tax-funded and manipulated opinion polls. These allegations were made by Thomas Schmid. He was once a member of the board of directors of the state investment agency ÖBAG and secretary general of the Ministry of Finance. He was also considered a close confidant of ex-Chancellor Kurz.

What exactly are the allegations?

According to Schmid, Kurz helped the Treasury Department place advertisements in a newspaper, which in turn published manipulated surveys. Schmid claims that Kurz was not only aware of the fake surveys, but actually commissioned them.

Some investigations were also covertly paid for by the ministry. Kurz is said to have made his way to the top of the party and to the chancellery during his time as foreign minister in 2017. Schmid, who formerly worked at the Treasury Department and ran the state holding company ÖBAG, also accused other ÖVP politicians and an entrepreneur of alleged interventions in tax matters.

What does Kurz say about the allegations?

Kurz defended himself against the allegations on Facebook on Wednesday. Schmid confessed to the prosecutor that he had lied several times. “Eventually it will turn out that this also applies in this case,” says Kurz.

Still, he apparently expects an indictment: He looks forward to disproving the allegations in court, wrote the former chancellor, who now works as an entrepreneur and strategic advisor to billionaire American investor and Donald Trump supporter Peter Thiel.

Just last week, 36-year-old former political star Kurz basked in a more positive PR light as he rounded up numerous interviews to mark the publication of a book about his career to date. The corruption investigations that led to his resignation last year have not been included in the book and have been brushed aside by Kurz, for example in an interview with broadcaster ORF: “I can only say that all these allegations meanwhile do not mean too much for have great relevance to me.” A few days later, the affair surrounding dubious surveys and advertisements is once again at the center of Austrian politics.

Who else is being charged?

In his statements, Schmid also makes accusations against a man who still holds an important position in the Austrian government: Chairman of the National Council Wolfgang Sobotka, also a member of the ÖVP. He is accused of involvement so that tax audits are not carried out on the Alois-Mock and Erwin-Proell foundations, which are close to the ÖVP. At the time, this was actually “done in the sense of Mag. Sobotka,” says Schmid.

Sobotka denies these allegations. He told the APA news agency that Schmid wanted to blackmail him. The allegations are “completely baseless,” Sobotka opposes. At the same time, he himself makes accusations against Kurz’s former confidante. “If someone has been desperately trying to obtain leniency status for months, all means are appropriate to bring about mitigating circumstances in the criminal process,” Sobotka said. With the blackening of political decision-makers, he is “guaranteed maximum media attention”.

What are the implications of the allegations?

Schmid’s statements are causing a stir in Austrian politics. Incumbent Prime Minister Karl Nehammer, also a member of the ÖVP, issued a brief statement on Wednesday calling for “complete clarification by the investigating authorities”.

The allegations against Kurz and Sobotka are also explosive as their ÖVP party currently rules the country in a coalition with the Greens. According to MP Nina Tomaselli, who represents the Greens on the committee, Schmid’s information has now turned known allegations into “very hard evidence”. The coalition was “naturally” burdened as a result, she admitted.

However, neither they nor other prominent Green politicians ended the coalition in the room. Now it is the turn of the judiciary, it was said. However, Vice Chancellor and Green Party leader Werner Kogler spoke out in favor of an extension of the U-committee in view of the Schmid minutes.

The opposition around the SPÖ, on the other hand, held a short-term press conference on Wednesday and demanded Sobotka’s immediate resignation. This is now “unacceptable in the second highest office in the republic,” said SPÖ deputy club boss Jörg Leichtfried. FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl, meanwhile, criticized Sobotka “had become the greatest burden on the dignity of the House due to all these accusations”. Like Leichtfried, he also called on the president of the National Council to resign.

(dab, with Keystone-SDA material)