“It’s not possible” – Corona repayments: Now Edtstadler also rejects it

Karner also admitted in the ORF “Press Hour” that this project is legally difficult. Karner repeatedly avoided a concrete answer to the question of whether the initiative of the ÖVP and FPÖ in Lower Austria should also apply to the federal government.

“closing locks”
In any case, he did not want the Corona Fund to be perceived as kneeling for the blues. It should also cover the psychological damage of the pandemic, said Karner, who argues the same as Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner (ÖVP) in the ‘Krone’ interview. Like her, the interior minister, who is from Lower Austria, explained that it was a matter of “closing the gaps” that had arisen during the pandemic.

Experts warn against abuse of office
Constitutional experts also warn against abuse of office. “Appropriate decisions must be implemented. If no objection has been made, they become legally binding, then there is no reason to pay them back,” says state lawyer Heinz Mayer against the “Presse”. “There is a constitutional principle that local governments should appropriately, lawfully and sparingly dispose of public resources. To violate this would be an abuse of office.”

“Any amnesty should come from the federal government”
For Karl Stöger, head of the Institute for Ethics and Law in Medicine in Vienna, it is “unthinkable” that a federal state should go it alone when it comes to repaying corona fines. Any amnesty should come from the federal side, “if then there should be amnesty for everyone, not just for a single federal state,” Stöger told the Ö1-Journal.

Constitutional and administrative law lawyer Peter Bussjäger also considers the “practical implementation” of the FPÖ’s request “extremely difficult”. If only because he doubts whether the responsible district council still has the relevant data at all: “I am not aware of that. If they do, it’s probably going to take a lot of effort to investigate.”