After seeing huge inconsistencies in the 2019 ÖVP campaign accounts in its current report, the Court of Audit (RH) now wants to take a closer look at the allocation of corona aid to the ÖVP seniors’ association. Public funding can be controlled “of course” – “and we’ll be interested in that too,” RH chair Margit Kraker said on Saturday.
The Court of Auditors published the ÖVP balance sheet for the 2019 election year on Friday and reported a number of violations of party law. The Independent Party Transparency Senate (UPTS) in the Chancellery and then the Federal Administrative Court, among others, should clarify whether the turquoise-black seniors’ organization is actually (as claimed by the ÖVP) associations independent of the party or better. said part the ÖVP.
In any event, the Court is of the opinion that these are attributable to the ÖVP. This question also depends on “what about the financing”, says Kraker in the Ö1 “Journal zu Gast”.
Parties excluded from assistance
The funds from the “Fund to Support Non-Profit Organizations” are actually intended for non-profit organizations. Parties and their sub-organizations actually fall outside this pot.
The advertisements in the newspaper of the Vorarlberger Wirtschaftsbund, on which the Court of Auditors reported to the UPTS, would also be audited by the Court in the coming years. “We check annually”, says Kraker: “If problems arise”, the right conclusions must be drawn from that.
Doubts about campaign costs
While auditing the ÖVP balance sheet which has now been initiated by an accountant on behalf of the Court of Auditors, Kraker hopes he can start work this year. After all, the ÖVP had assured their cooperation. The Court of Auditors doubts whether the People’s Party has correctly accounted for the campaign costs.
ÖVP sees himself on the right
The People’s Party again contradicted this on Saturday: the violations alleged by the Court of Auditors “will prove to be unfounded”, they emphasized again to krone.at. After all, two auditors have already checked all documents several times. We note that the Court of Auditors wishes to insure itself through a third auditor.
“The People’s Party has fully and correctly stated all costs of the 2019 election campaigns,” it sounds. The sub-organization “ÖVP Senioren”, which according to the party is clearly separated from the non-profit organization “Österreichischer Seniorenbund” in terms of both statutes and finances, answered and submitted all necessary documents in a timely and complete manner.
NEOS see “historic low”
However, the other parliamentary parties have little faith in the truth of the statement. The SPÖ provoked a “turquoise swamp of scandals” on Friday, the NEOS even spoke of a “historic low” as confirmation of the “corruption problem”.
FPÖ Secretary General Michael Schnedlitz was also “stunned” calling the People’s Party figures “a single scam and deception” – and even Green MP Nina Tomaselli described the report as “devastating”.
Source: Krone
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