The Court of Audit (RH) sees inadmissible donations in connection with social media accounts of the ÖVP and SPÖ. Violations were allegedly committed by the Freedom Party at a fan shop that sells FPÖ advertising material, as well as at the “Neue Freie Zeitung”.
In general, politicians’ social media activities raise “questions of demarcation related to potential conflicts of interest,” the Court of Auditors said in a statement on Friday. For example, there are no clear rules for this.
At the ÖVP the emphasis is on the stories of Chancellor Karl Nehammer; In 2022, there were 50,600 euros in personnel costs that were not reimbursed to the Federal Chancellery. The Court of Auditors regarded this as an inadmissible donation. In addition, messages have been published that do not directly relate to the Chancellor’s government work, but can be seen as advertising for the party.
The RH sees a further violation of party law in the fact that the income and expenses of the “Austrian Seniors Association” and the corresponding state-level associations were not reported in the 2022 annual report.
Doskozil’s Facebook account
At the SPÖ, the RH also noted a violation in connection with messages on social media. Two years ago, six messages attributed to the party were published on the Facebook account of Burgenland Mayor Hans Peter Doskozil.
“The photos, the content of the accompanying texts and the striking red background of the contributions to the May 1 event (…) give the average attentive (…) and informed viewer the impression that this is festive content from the SPÖ acts and therefore represents advertising value for the party,” the statement states.
Another inadmissible donation concerns the magazine “4U: The magazine of the SPÖ Graz”, which involves donations of 20,700 euros. Only part of it was expelled.
Blue webshop
A message has been sent to the Independent Party Transparency Senate (UTPS) about the FPÖ Carinthia. On its website, this refers to a fan shop that offers items with the party’s design. No material and personnel costs incurred for this have been reported.
The “Neue Freie Zeitung” again received press funding of 54,242 euros, which was not included in the annual report. In addition, the income from advertisements appears to be too low.
The Court of Audit published the reports from the Greens and NEOS at the end of October. There he also found inadmissible donations linked to the social media accounts of Civil Service Minister Werner Kogler and Justice Minister Alma Zadić (both Greens) and the Deputy Mayor of Vienna, Christoph Wiederkehr (NEOS).
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.
