The ÖVP strengthens National Council President Wolfgang Sobotka (ÖVP) despite the investigation into abuse of office. She suspects political motives behind the advertisement following a vacancy. The opposition sees it differently and speaks of “recent ÖVP scandals” and “mocking the rule of law”.
It has been known since Wednesday that Sobotka is being investigated for abuse of office. The trigger should be an ad from Peter Pilz. The reason for this is an appointment from 2017. In particular, Andrea Jelinek is said to have been prevented by the ÖVP as Deputy State Police Director of Vienna, because she was seen as close to the SPÖ. After the allegations were made public, the opposition again demanded that Sobotka hand over the chairmanship of the ÖVP’s Commission of Inquiry immediately. Even representatives of coalition partner Greens advised him to do so.
clarify allegations
The ÖVP sees no need for this. “He will do everything in his power to clear up the allegations and I have every confidence in that,” party leader and chancellor Karl Nehammer said in the Ö1 “Morgenjournal” on Friday. According to ÖVP Secretary General Laura Sachslehner, Peter Pilz’s ad against Sobotka will “burst like a bubble”.
Political motives?
Both she and Sobotka suspect political motives. “What happens here is transparent and has only one goal. Peter Pilz wants to get Sobotka out of office by any means necessary. There is no other way to explain why a report was made to the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption just days before the statute of limitations,” Sachslehner said.
“Escape abroad”
The opposition is not satisfied with this line of defence. FPÖ chairman Herbert Kickl criticized that Nehammer – he visited the German capital Berlin – “flees new ÖVP scandals” abroad. The chancellor’s comment that Sobotka would quickly clarify the charges against him and that all was said therefore was a “mockery of the rule of law in Austria” and clearly shows the “questionable legal awareness among the ÖVP,” Kickl said.
Source: Krone
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