The first three days of the trial against Sebastian Kurz are over. Time to take stock. Former prosecutor Gerhard Jarosch evaluates the first days of the trial for the “Krone”.
“So far the defense is well positioned,” analyzes Gerhard Jarosch. He worked in the judiciary for 25 years and was spokesman for the Austrian public prosecutors. Two years ago, Jarosch left the judiciary and started working as an advisor at ‘Change Communications’.
“Kurz works in both directions”
The ex-public prosecutor distinguishes three defense strategies. “Kurz mainly works in two directions. One of them is that he did not deliberately lie in the University Committee. But if the judge found a fly in the ointment, then there was a testamentary emergency.”
What does that mean? In the U-Committee, witnesses are also allowed to lie, so that they do not incriminate themselves. This is the now famous declaration of a state of emergency. “The judge must examine whether there was a need to testify, regardless of whether Kurz admits the need to testify or not.” In support of this, Kurz often argues during the trial that he was “afraid that the MPs would give him an opinion” in the U-Committee “wanting to initiate criminal proceedings.”
Which Jarosch already calls Kurz’s second line of strategy. ‘He wants to show that the University Committee is not about finding the truth, but about scoring political goals.’ The NEOS and the SPÖ in particular wanted to “finish him off,” Kurz said during the trial.
The third strategy is to discredit key witness Thomas Schmid and portray him as a career-addicted egomaniac.
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.
