With the votes of the governing parties ÖVP and the Greens, the National Council adopted new anti-corruption rules on Friday. While Justice Minister Alma Zadic (Greens) sees a “milestone”, the opposition signals yawning gaps. Purchasing a mandate carries a prison sentence of up to two years in the future, but only if the political office is actually filled.
With the new rules, the government would only “paint white paint” on the political “water damage” caused by corruption, NEOS MP Nikolaus Scherak said during the debate in the National Council. Although accepting money for political office is punishable from September 1, it remains unpunished if someone receives money for reneging on their mandate.
In addition, it remains possible to receive donations without the intervention of the Court of Audit, emphasizes Scherak. “They tried to sell us that they were carrying out major reforms”, but the result is a “sign of poverty”, he criticizes the Turquoise-Green coalition.
“misleading package”
SPÖ justice spokeswoman Selma Yildirim also saw a “cheat pack with big announcements”. She justified her party’s no to change the law by saying that after three and a half years of political wrangling, the government had “finally come up with nothing of substance”. During this time, Austria fell behind in the international anti-corruption rankings.
ÖVP Secretary General Christian Stocker contradicted her. The amendment to the law is “obviously a tightening up” and a “closing of a gap”. Because corrupt behavior is still frowned upon, the intention to prevent corruption is taken into account. That will also be reflected in the standings.
Justice Minister Zadic also defended the new regulations. She stressed that a conviction for corruption in the future means automatic loss of office – a final conviction and imprisonment of at least six months will suffice. In addition, the new maximum penalty for bribery and corruption is 15 years in prison. So this is “significantly tightened up”, Zadic confirmed.
“Primary judgments must be justified afterwards”
In the debate, it was pointed out several times that the amendment of the criminal law on corruption had been triggered by the Ibiza video. Reason for the FPÖ to vote against the changes. Because this “justifies the failure of Strache’s pursuit,” said FPÖ spokesman Harald Stefan.
He pointed out that former party leader Heinz-Christian Strache had been cleared of the charges, but “financially ruined” and “biased by the media”. According to Stefan, the law raises more questions than fills gaps. It works “simply to justify prejudice afterwards”.
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.
