Resignation demanded – “Sobotka is sometimes bothered by these accusations”

The serious allegations against Sobotka were discussed at the beginning of the National Council meeting on Wednesday. The ÖVP politician must know what to do to prevent damage to the republic, says SPÖ club leader Philip Kucher. He damages the office: “Enough is enough”.

In his speech, FPÖ club president Herbert Kickl saw a slew of serious misconduct by the People’s Party linked to National Council President Sobotka. The second highest man in the republic is suspected of abusing the institutions to enforce party political power interests, and then he lacks the horizons and decency to know what is necessary.

NEOS club president Beate Meinl-Reisinger was “irritated” by the circumstances in which the new allegations came to light. She was equally irritated by what former department head Christian Pilnacek, who recently died, said about Sobotka on the tape that became public. There should not be the slightest suspicion that the President of the National Council is not the impeccable person the office needs: “I ask you to resign.”

NEOS boss: “Nothing refuted”
ÖVP Secretary General Christian Stocker had previously seen “warmed-up accusations” that had already been refuted by Pilnacek’s statements in the ÖVP’s investigative committee. But “nothing was refuted there,” Meinl-Reisinger emphasized. That is a false claim: Pilnacek “did not absolutely agree that members of the People’s Party – especially Sobotka – were trying to exert influence. “Pilnacek has failed here,” the NEOS boss explained. The Greens did not speak out.

Stocker defends Sobotka
During a press conference held shortly afterwards, Stocker claimed that the allegations had already been cleared up in the ÖVP’s corruption commission. “If we believe secret audio recordings more than statements in the U Commission, there is something wrong in the state,” he said. The fact that the opposition is calling for Wolfgang Sobotka’s resignation is nothing new. This is the “continuation of an undignified spectacle,” Stocker said. Because it cannot be the number of accusations that determines whether someone should resign. “Sobotka in particular sometimes attracts these accusations because he speaks clearly,” he tried to defend the president of the National Council.

“What did Stefan Petzner know?”
Stocker emphasized that what was important to him was the demand of the “financiers” who were behind the secret Pilnacek audio recording. He suggested that former BZÖ politician Stefan Petzner might have something to do with it. In a recorded TV clip from November 6, 2022, Petzner speaks of “further burdens” that would force Sobotka to resign. Stocker said he “assumed absolutely nothing,” but rather asked questions: “What did Stefan Petzner know about the preparation of the recording?” Why was the recording released a year later?” Petzner will have to answer these questions, the ÖVP general secretary said.