Next year there will be two parliamentary U-committees. Due to time constraints, witness hearings can only take place on six days. Very little time to explain it thoroughly. At the same time, high costs arise.
A parliamentary investigation committee costs about 60,000 euros per day! Next year there will be two. At the request of the SPÖ and FPÖ, an investigation is being conducted into COFAG financing and the alleged “favoring of billionaires in Austria by the ruling party ÖVP”. The latter is mainly aimed at the bankrupt investor René Benko.
In retaliation, the ÖVP has requested an investigation into ‘red-blue abuse of power’ between 2007 and 2020. Due to the upcoming National Council elections, the U committees must be ready by July. Obtaining all documents will take until March.
There remains a time frame of approximately eight weeks, from mid-March to mid-May, for the witness hearings. This results in approximately six days of investigations per U committee, explains National Council Chairman Wolfgang Sobotka (ÖVP). When asked whether this was not a complete waste of money, the committee chairman of the last parliamentary review (Ibiza and ÖVP) said: “In Germany all committees are short and efficient.”
TV broadcasts are not yet a problem
The TV broadcast of the meetings currently being discussed will not be broadcast in 2024. The fact that Sobotka wants to chair both committees is particularly annoying for the opposition. The President of the National Council refers to the rules of procedure. He is thinking of a routine chairmanship such as the one he holds in the National Council.
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.
