Whether the ÖVP corruption inquiry commission will be terminated prematurely due to a lack of further investigations will not be decided until tomorrow, Wednesday. A meeting of the Rules of Procedure at 1 pm will be the last attempt to agree on a further work plan.
Failure to secure polls for the second half of January on Wednesday is likely to mean the premature end of the parliamentary investigative body, which runs until February 1.
“FPÖ in principle for extension”
The FPÖ is in principle in favor of extending the U committee for another month, said group chairman Christian Hafenecker after a joint meeting of the group leaders of the ÖVP Commission for Corruption Investigations with the chairman, the chairman of the National Council, Wolfgang Sobotka ( ÖVP). . It is not surprising that the ÖVP does not like this, as does the proposal to hold three more survey days in January. “It is high time that this U-committee came to an end,” said ÖVP party leader Andreas Hanger.
And that’s exactly what the signs seem to point to. On the one hand, the fronts remained hardened to the last, on the other hand, the time to invite information persons is more than short. Hanger assumes that “an agreement is reached by mutual consent”. Thomas Schmid’s cargo is a priority for him.
SPÖ continues to push for agreement
The other party leaders were less optimistic. Jan Krainer (SPÖ) expects Sobotka to determine the further work plan tomorrow. The ÖVP’s proposal to invite ex-ÖBAG boss Thomas Schmid this week is “not to be taken seriously”. He again made the People’s Party responsible for the fact that no agreement had been reached to date.
There was pink criticism after today’s meeting for both the ÖVP and the SPÖ. Both parties had moved too late and are themselves to blame for the fact that correct and timely charging is no longer possible. According to NEOS faction leader Stephanie Krisper, an extension was agreed so that Schmid could be questioned again.
However, she does not like a further expansion of the U-committee, as proposed by the FPÖ. Further requests for evidence can be made at tomorrow’s meeting. Krisper does not trust Sobotka to submit a work plan on his own initiative. “After all, it is still the ÖVP.”
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
