After the investigations of the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption (WKStA) into investigations by ÖVP-led ministries became known, the NEOS wants to clarify matters with a new series of investigations. Secretary General Douglas Hoyos also called for a transparency offensive. He identified a “major corruption problem” in the ÖVP’s environment. ÖVP Secretary General Christian Stocker vehemently rejected the criticism.
The WKStA investigates studies of the ministries of Defence, Agriculture and Economy that were carried out in 2021 and 2022 on behalf of the Demox Institute. These are suspicions of infidelity, fraud and anti-competitive agreements.
No need for polls?
There is a presumption that there was no or only partially objective need for a number of studies. The investigations also included questions that had nothing to do with the ministry, according to the public prosecutor.
‘Federal government looking for loopholes’
Hoyos was annoyed that he had to “have the same discussion over and over again” because the ÖVP had not made a “clean sweep”. In response to previous series of inquiries, in which the pink vice club boss Nikolaus Scherak asked about investigations commissioned by ministries, no assignments from Demox had been mentioned in recent years. The federal government is looking for loopholes here not to publish cases, Hoyos said. Other polls were labeled as studies, but not this one.
NEOS calls for a transparency offensive and launches a series of investigations
Since 2021, we have had studies that are “close to the ÖVP,” according to Hoyos. “An ÖVP ministry, in this case the Ministry of Defense headed by Klaudia Tanner, is conducting an investigation into matters affecting the federal military, and then the ÖVP happens to be attached to this investigation with an omnibus asking to government popularity ratings. In a new series of parliamentary questions to all ministries, Hoyos and Scherak therefore explicitly ask questions about study assignments and cooperation with the Demox Institute.
It is important that the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption (WKStA) investigates, Hoyos said, condemning the bickering of the federal government and the ÖVP, “how to determine here”. The judiciary is discredited and damaged.
The NEOS are also calling for a “transparency offensive”. Ministries must therefore make all investigations and investigations public and the treasury of all parties must become transparent. At the NEOS, “every sausage roll”, every paid flyer, every donation is made public. Hoyos also pushed for the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act.
ÖVP_ “NEOS copies the style of the SPÖ”
“The People’s Party is neither accused nor involved in this process,” ÖVP Secretary General Christian Stocker countered the criticism in a broadcast. The NEOS would “copy the style of the SPÖ”, statements of fact would be presented from the opposition point of view and accusations would be leveled against the ÖVP – “with the sole purpose of discrediting and harming the political competitor by means of false accusations. .”
FPÖ blames NEOS: “Hypocrisy”
The FPÖ’s dissatisfaction has other reasons. “I only remind you that it was the NEOS that served the ÖVP a few months ago and took down the ÖVP’s corruption investigation committee – although it was clear to everyone that the facts brought to light until then were only the tip of the iceberg. could be. ”, FPÖ Secretary General Christian Hafenecker complained. He accused NEOS of “hypocrisy” because the parliamentary committee of inquiry is said to be a more effective tool for scrutiny and clarification than the parliamentary inquiry.
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.
