Thomas Schmid, long considered lost, has resurfaced – and he didn’t come empty-handed. The former boss of ÖBAG is said to have unpacked his things in front of the prosecutor for economics and corruption. About alleged corruption, appointments, misuse of taxpayers’ money – and about Sebastian Kurz.
Chancellor and ÖVP leader Karl Nehammer wanted socks for his 50th birthday on Tuesday before this political bombshell about some of his former party colleagues. As it became known, the ex-financial secretary Thomas Schmid would have unpacked 15 full days from April this year. All-embracing, repentant, and confessing. A leniency program is being negotiated.
Is there a charge now?
The allegations facing Schmid carry a lot of weight. According to his statement, he would have received the order for the so-called leg scraper tool directly from Sebastian Kurz. This statement alone could pose huge legal problems for the former Turkish model man – a charge should be inevitable and in the worst case even jail time. Unsurprisingly, Kurz’s lawyer, Werner Suppan, doubts Thomas Schmid’s credibility, speaking of an “attempted attempt”.
Main players gone, responsibility remains
The ÖVP is again overtaken by his turquoise shade. The main actors involved have, of course, long since broken the political divide and resigned themselves to the private sector. So there shouldn’t be any consequences, at least not in terms of personnel – but we’ll have to talk at length about the moral lessons learned from the whole story and about what goes on behind the scenes!
ÖVP must draw the line
The ÖVP would do well to draw a final line under their turquoise era and clearly distance themselves. While this can’t wipe out the current findings, it’s the only chance to preserve the last scraps of confidence, which at least only exist in homeopathic doses. The current poll numbers aren’t great for the party already!
The Praetorian Who Makes Trouble
Thomas Schmid once wrote – at the height of Kurz’s success – in one of the dozen chats: “I am one of your praetorians, who does not cause problems, but solves them.” Years later, things look a little different.
Source: Krone
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