Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler (Greens) eloquently defended Corona aid on Wednesday during his appearance at the COFAG investigative committee. In his opening statement, he referred, among other things, to the Economic Research Institute (Wifo), which had given Corona aid a “generally good report”. Earlier, Finance Minister Magnus Brunner and his predecessor Gernot Blümel (both ÖVP) also answered questions from the committee.
At the beginning of his investigation, which began in the afternoon, Kogler recalled the beginning of the pandemic: at that time the most important thing was to save human lives, he emphasized and referred to the measures taken to contain the coronavirus . Of course it had an “impact” on the economy. Corona aid saved the national economy from an even bigger slump, he said.
Kogler saw no “special instrument.”
Regarding the criticism of the Covid financing agency COFAG, Kogler said he did not realize that “a special instrument would have been built” for the benefit of donors to the “Ballhausplatz Project”. “I don’t think you can accuse COFAG, the authorities involved and various people responsible within the Ministry of Finance for that.” Yet there is always room for improvement, he admitted looking back.
FPÖ MP Christian Hafenecker questioned COFAG director Marc Schimpel’s haggling for green jobs. Kogler said Schimpel was suggested by Climate Minister Leonore Gewessler’s chief of staff because of his competence. Schimpel was previously an office manager at the Green Parliamentary Club, but – as Kogler asked – “not a Green member, never was”.
Blümel with gaps in his memory
Before Kogler, who closed the committee day, ex-Finance Minister Blümel combed through his memory to provide MPs with information about his time in office. However, the ex-politician who moved to the private sector hardly provided any concrete information on Wednesday. The gaps in memory led to some pointed questions from MPs.
Finance Minister Brunner started the last regular week of surveys in the COFAG-U committee this morning. According to him, Signa companies owe the state millions in taxes. Brunner spoke to MPs about a “double-digit million figure”, the number referring to the claims registered in the insolvency proceedings.
Benko is coming in May
The rejection of Signa founder Rene Benko caused anger among parliamentarians. Entrepreneur Siegfried Wolf also canceled this week. However, due to the threatening presentation to the police, Benko made a binding commitment through his lawyer Norbert Wess for May 22.
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.
