Fleischmann is back – ex-Kurz spokesperson takes over ÖVP communication

The reform provides for an expansion of the areas of press and social media & digital communication. In the future, press work, digital communication and communication with members will be bundled in a new cross-media newsroom in Lichtenfelsgasse. Fleischmann, 49, from Burgenland, will be primarily responsible for the party’s strategic communications.

Fleischmann’s motifs
When asked why he did it, Fleischmann is said to have told insiders: “Imagine – a chancellor who sacrifices himself to lead the country through the greatest crisis since 1945 asks you if you can make a small contribution – then don’t you. say no.”

Schmid attacks Fleischmann
As for the Schmid case, which also indicts Flesichmann, the ex-Kurz spokesperson reportedly told insiders that he had waited a year, but there were no new findings. He does not want to wait five years for the process to end, but wants to work and contribute.

In the polling affair around the ÖVP, Schmid not only charged Kurz, but also his closest confidants. The Chancellor’s spokesman at the time, Johannes Frischmann, and the former Head of the Communications Department of the Finance Department, Johannes Pasquali, undertook the implementation of the tool. Fleischmann and Kurz adviser Stefan Steiner would also have known about it.

Various activities in the ÖVP
Fleischmann already worked for the People’s Party at various levels, including as a press spokesman for the Lower Austrian ÖVP and, from 2007, for the federal party. He later worked under Attorney General Claudia Bandion-Ortner before moving to Sebastian Kurz in the Secretary of State for Integration.

Fleischmann accompanied him to the chancellery, where his duties included deputy head of cabinet and media officer. He became known to a wider audience as a moderator of the almost daily press conferences at the start of the corona crisis. Most recently, Fleischmann was active in the parliamentary club ÖVP.

Stocker: “Absolutely complete professional”
ÖVP Secretary General Christian Stocker was happy in a broadcast about the reshuffle. Fleischmann is an “absolute professional” and, like Valtiner and Dorfstetter, an asset to the People’s Party. With his years of experience, he will put the communication of the People’s Party on a new footing.

Treml remains the point of contact for the media
Peter Treml, who has held this position since September last year, remains the People’s Party’s press spokesman and thus the point of contact for the media. Sophie Valtiner has been head of the Social Media & Digital Communication department since November of this year. Nikolaus Dorfstetter has been Stocker’s office manager since November.