Eight months probation: ex-chancellor Sebastian Kurz convicted of making false statements

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Austria’s former Chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, was sentenced to an eight-month suspended sentence for making false statements. In its ruling on Friday, the Vienna Regional Court found it proven that Kurz had exercised greater influence in the appointment of the supervisory board of the state-owned holding company Öbag than he had admitted to the Ibiza investigative committee. Öbag manages state investments in several companies.

Kurz told the parliamentary inquiry committee in 2020 that he was aware of the events but did not actively intervene. In the case of the appointment of his then Kurz confidante Thomas Schmid as head of Öbag, the judge acquitted the former head of government of the charge of making false statements.

The trial was followed with excitement in Austria. The Alpine Republic is heading into a super election year with local and state elections, the European elections and the National Council elections expected to take place at the end of September. The conviction of Kurz, who was very popular as chancellor and ÖVP leader, will likely provide campaign ammunition for his political opponents. “If an ex-chancellor is convicted, it will become a millstone for the ÖVP when it comes to corruption and nepotism,” says political advisor Thomas Hofer.

The 37-year-old Kurz, who will now work as an entrepreneur after his resignation and fundamental departure from politics at the end of 2021, had always emphasized his innocence. From 2017 to 2019, he led a coalition between the ÖVP and the right-wing FPÖ. From 2020 to 2021, he led an alliance between the ÖVP and the Greens. In connection with the Ibiza affair involving ex-vice chancellor and ex-FPÖ leader Heinz-Christian Strache, which came to light in 2019, parliament has set up a commission of inquiry into the “alleged venality of the black-blue government” . The committee should investigate suspicions of corruption and nepotism during the time of the ÖVP-FPÖ coalition.

At the time of his statement in the summer of 2020, Kurz was more popular than ever, especially given his handling of the Corona crisis. He had always promised the citizens a ‘new style’, without the nepotism that was so widespread in Austria. This is one of the reasons why he described his influence during the Öbag occupation as “informed” but not “involved” in the Commission of Inquiry.

In addition to the current trial, the ex-chancellor is threatened with a second trial. In the so-called advertising affair, the then head of government and his team allegedly had false surveys carried out using taxpayers’ money. They would also have hoped for well-intentioned reporting by placing advertisements in various media. Ten suspects are being investigated on suspicion of bribery, corruption and breach of trust. (SDA)

Source: Blick