The ÖVP’s Corruption Commission of Inquiry is going on summer vacation with former ÖVP Economic Affairs Minister Margarete Schramböck on Thursday. The focus is on commissioning surveys, surveys and advertisements during her time as department head. Schramböck is the only person providing information on the day of the transaction. The ÖVP spoke again in advance about wasting taxpayers’ money – also to the dismay of the green coalition partner.
The opposition and the Greens suspect that the ÖVP-led ministries have launched surveys asking questions in the interest of the party or former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. The MPs will discuss, among other things, a “mission statement process” that pollster and former family minister Sophie Karmasin carried out for the Ministry of Economic Affairs in 2019 and 2020. This cost 125,920 euros in taxpayers’ money, but the opposition found the output low.
Schramböck responsible for “survey corruption”?
For SPÖ faction leader Jan Krainer, Schramböck’s role is divided into two parts: on the one hand, the excessive demands in office, for example evident in the failed online platform “Kaufhaus Österreich”. On the other hand, she and her former department are responsible for most of the “poll corruption” by the ÖVP. Christian Ries of the FPÖ also sees it that way. But he does not expect “the big show”, because Schramböck has always been “a gray mouse in the federation of federal ministers”.
“Invention by Sebastian Kurz”
Schramböck’s interrogation was not entirely uninteresting, even for the Greens, as the ex-minister was considered an “invention of Sebastian Kurz”. There was a green reprimand for ÖVP faction leader Andreas Hanger. He had previously described the investigations in the committee as a waste of taxpayers’ money and a political tribunal. According to Tomaselli, the “derogatory statements” show the “indifference” that prevails in the ÖVP towards the loss of confidence in the population.
But Hanger’s other criticisms also related to the fact that the U-committee will have to deal with some 200 additional requests for evidence before the summer break. As a result, the regulation meeting following the investigation is likely to get out of hand. For Hanger, this also borders on “crippling” ministries.
Source: Krone
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