After days of waiting for the mail, the time has come: the extradition request from the Klagenfurt public prosecutor’s office has arrived at the Styrian state parliament. She wants to investigate FPÖ chairman Mario Kunasek in the financial case of Graz. The price will probably not be set until April.
The financial affair of the FPÖ Graz has been preoccupying Styrian politics for a year and a half: up to 1.8 million euros are said to have been diverted from municipal club funding for years and flowed to officials and party-affiliated clubs. The former head of the town party is under investigation, as are some “smaller fish”.
Most recently, Mario Kunasek, the leader of the state party, was also the focus of the investigation. According to the responsible criminal investigation department of Carinthia, during an interrogation last year, the former minister “deliberately did not testify according to his level of knowledge” and also “deliberately did not submit any evidence”. In other words, he knew more about what was happening in Graz than he explained to the police. The suspected motive is that Kunasek wanted to prevent the FPÖ state party from becoming the focus of the investigation.
Kunasek himself has always emphasized that he acts transparently, is interested in clarification and fully cooperates with the authorities. Nevertheless, the public prosecutor’s office in Klagenfurt announced last Thursday that it would submit an extradition request to the state parliament. Because only if the Liberal’s parliamentary immunity is lifted can he be investigated. The allegations are: misuse of funding, embezzlement and infidelity. It is the presumption of innocence.
Since the announcement – ironically made the day before the city party conference in Graz – people in Graz have been waiting for the letter from Klagenfurt. This arrived on Friday. But it will probably not be discussed for a long time, because the responsible constitutional committee – of which Kunasek himself is a member – will not meet again until April 18. Tuesday’s committee meeting this week was missed.
But there are no surprises to be expected: after the FPÖ itself announced that it would agree to the extradition, the green light will be given – but probably not until the end of April, when the state parliament meets for a session.
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.
