The request announced by the third chairman of the National Council, Norbert Hofer (FPÖ), for a reprisal against Hans Jörg Schelling (ÖVP) will be a long time coming. It is currently unclear who will sign it: Hofer himself, as he announced, or National Council president Wolfgang Sobotka (ÖVP). A decision on this should only be made after Easter, Hofer announced on Thursday.
The former finance minister of the ÖVP refused to answer questions about the Beinschab investigations in the VP ad affair in the parliamentary inquiry committee. Upon receipt of the request, it is up to the Federal Administrative Court to decide whether or not any coercive measures should be imposed on Schelling.
Extensive use of the right to refuse
Schelling was invited as a person to the ÖVP inquiry committee on Wednesday to provide information and was asked, among other things, about the tax case of the entrepreneur Siegfried Wolf – who stood before him – and other topics. Schelling announced early on that he would decide on a case-by-case basis whether to exercise his dismissal right, as he was being investigated in multiple proceedings.
From the first minute, Schelling made extensive use of his right of refusal – much to the dismay of trial judge Wolfgang Pöschl, who led the first interrogation. He wanted to know why significantly more money had been spent on studies in the finance department than budgeted and why there were no documents for some such orders.
Hofer has announced a request for reprisal
Since this subject was in the file in which he was being investigated, Schelling did not want to say anything about it – he had no insight yet and could still be questioned by the Public Prosecution Service at this complex, he said. After extensive deliberation, that was not enough reason for Hofer to be fired. He announced a petition for refusal to comply with the Federal Administrative Court against Schelling.
However, it is not legally clear who may sign the application. There are in any case no examples from the past of this concrete and first situation, according to Hofer. Since Hofer’s announcement has been recorded, it must at least be done, it said. This is currently being prepared by the parliamentary directorate. Incidentally, it is not the applicant who decides how high the fine should be, but the Federal Administrative Court. Refusal sanctions have already been applied for, but for the wrongful refusal of informants.
Source: Krone
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