Green infrastructure minister Leonore Gewessler is once again facing opposition criticism over the allocation of advisory services. For example, a framework of about 180,000 euros for ‘creative agency services’ was set for the federal government’s energy-saving campaign “Mission 11”, according to a response to the PVV. FPÖ MP Christian Hafenecker is also going against other orders from agencies close to the Greens.
The campaign budget for “Mission 11” is divided as follows: 960,000 euros reserved for TV broadcasts, 370,000 euros for radio, 660,000 euros for print, 414,000 euros for online media, 36,000 euros for social media, 178,000 euros for posters and info screens and 40,000 euros euros for the cinema. According to Gewessler, the costs will be borne from the detailed budget of 1/43/05 for climate and energy.
FPÖ demands Gewessler’s resignation
In the months of July to September 2022, Gewessler’s department paid or commissioned almost 8.45 million euros for various projects and advisory services, the blue MPs said in response to the question. According to Hafenecker, the ministry has a large team of experts. Yet the minister very often relies on external experts, “who are often associated with the Greens”. Hafenecker and FPÖ Secretary General Michael Schnedlitz are calling for the minister of Green to resign.
A stumbling block: “MediaBrothers GmbH” received more than 36,768 euros for “creating the layout for the German version of the Federal Waste Management Plan 2022”. Co-founder was Stephan Götz, who later joined the Green Party and has been one of the spokespersons for Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen for several days now. But the advertising agency “Jung von Matt”, the former employer of Van der Bellen’s campaign manager Martin Radjaby, was also commissioned for the further support and redesign of the project “Get out of oil and gas”, which costs around 97,000.
“Incredible Scandal”
The design of the energy-saving campaign “Missie 11” (“pot on the lid”, “shower instead of bath”) also went to “Jung von Matt”. “It’s an unbelievable scandal,” Hafenecker said. When asked by the FPÖ how the minister would monitor the campaign’s stated goal of reducing energy and electricity consumption by eleven percent, the answer was: “Since statistics on energy consumption in households are only available with a long delay, it is planned to conduct an opinion poll later this year to measure success.”
In Gewessler’s responses to external consultations and investigations, the PVV felt uncomfortable with the planning of a reception desk on the first floor of the ministry for almost 5,000 euros. Walter Boltz, the minister’s energy adviser, received 100,000 euros in five months for his expertise, according to the response to the survey. The University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland was hired to conduct a study of the Austrian space sector for approximately EUR 88,000.
Source: Krone
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