The premature end of the GECKO committee at the end of March was announced Monday evening. A few hours later on Tuesday morning, committee member Andreas Bergthaler confirmed that he and other members, including simulation researcher Niki Popper, had announced their early departures. According to Bergthaler, “political developments” were decisive for this.
The GECKO members had announced their early resignation at Monday’s meeting – even before Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) followed the majority of the committee’s proposal to dissolve them early.
‘It feels like the crisis no longer exists’
“The GECKO Advisory Board is coming to an end. I (and others) announced yesterday that I would be leaving in early April,” Bergthaler wrote on Twitter Tuesday morning. His motives were due to political developments “which I could no longer reconcile with the original advisory mandate”. Another reason was the “unclear order of work until the commission’s scheduled end in June”. This also has to do with the fact that “it feels like there is no longer an acute crisis in this form”.
Bergthaler supports early departure from the committee
Bergthaler supports the early departure from the committee: “The next majority proposal to dissolve GECKO at the end of March had my support.” Individually, the reasons were weighted differently — “and there were individual voices against this move. Yesterday’s discussion was open, critical and appreciative,” he wrote. His thanks go to “my colleagues for the enriching exchange, and GECKO Chairs Katharina Reich and Rudolf Striedinger, for whom it was not always easy either. value consulting work of the past 15 months, as announced last night, we are pleased.
Popper joins Bergthaler “in everything”
Simulation researcher Niki Popper explained – also via Twitter – that he follows Bergthaler “in everything”. “I also aimed for an exit in April,” said the expert. “We then consulted together in GECKO and the majority chose a different path as a proposal (which I always see as a better solution).” He also referred to developments outside the committee, which he views critically: “You hear the loud and banging” – from all sides. “But science should help make the silence heard,” he wrote.
Kickl grumbles about “experts”
FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl described GECKO’s early dissolution as “long overdue” on Tuesday. But this comes “like so much of this black and green federal government on the subject of Covid way overdue and certainly can’t undo what happened. That is why we liberals demand a real clarification of the Corona events and interdependence in a parliamentary committee of inquiry and continue to invite all parties to do so,” said Kickl. “The GECKO committee is the symbol of the short-sighted thinking of recent years and is responsible for the fact that the word ‘expert’ has now acquired a bad name, because nothing but pure dogmatics was pursued here in the name of science,” said the chairman. Kickl.
On Monday, the Chancellery announced that the Commission for National Covid Crisis Coordination (GECKO), established in December 2021, would be dissolved in an orderly manner three months before the end of its mandate, on March 31. Prior to this announcement, there were already rumors of the resignation of some members. Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) had already expressed his regret about stepping down. However, after Monday’s meeting, the committee said, “There is no official request to leave.”
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.
