Chorherr trial – Meinl-Reisinger and Vassilakou interviewed as witnesses

The latter was a member of the municipal council for spatial planning and transport from 2010 to 2019 and, as a member of government, is therefore also responsible for the inauguration process. Meinl-Reisinger was also active in the town hall. From 2015 to 2018, she was the boss of the pink council club. However, the NEOS were still in opposition at the time and did not enter government until 2020.

Meinl-Reisinger was the first to sit in court on Tuesday and was asked, among other things, about her knowledge of the controversial Heumarkt project. She explained that she was not involved in construction matters in the town hall – her responsibilities in different committees were different. However, investor Michael Tojner approached NEOS to inquire about their position.

Cannot drive over contract with UNESCO
In short, we welcome the fact that something is happening on the site. However, it soon became clear that the project would be classified as a World Heritage Site, she reported. Meinl-Reisinger said people believed that the contract with UNESCO could not be “overruled”. Tojner contacted her, who wanted to know how NEOS will vote.

This came after it became known that the Greens would probably not vote for the dedication as a whole. Tojner also wanted to support NEOS financially, she explained – but not before the 2015 municipal elections, as she had initially told the WKStA, but not until 2017.

“I Clearly Refused”
“I was against it because I considered it incompatible with the Heumarkt decision,” said Meinl-Reisinger. It was then about supporting a campaign against mandatory membership of the Chamber of Commerce, “and I clearly rejected that that was not possible”. When asked how she could have guessed that, she said, “I don’t need psychic abilities for Tojner in March 2017.”

She was also unwilling to award a “pink ribbon” to a public participation process led by Tojner at the Heumarkt. The idea for such a study originally came from her.

No personal experience
Again it was about the role of the canon in the congregation of Vienna. Meinl-Reisinger spoke of the “Ondit that without Mag. Chorherr nothing works in construction matters”. But she has no personal comments about it. On the issue of incompatibilities between Chorherr’s positions in the S2arch association and the causes being voted on in the city council, she said she knew the Greens mandate was not taking part in a vote at the time. Chorherr himself emphasized that this had happened several times. He also submitted several statements of bias.

Vassilakou is considered the main witness
“The central figure when submitting a project to the city council is the alderman, in this case me.” You always had the option to withdraw a project. It is normal for project applicants to seek support for their project, she said. These would “traditionally” target as many people as possible. She herself has spoken several times with operators of construction projects, including, for example, Tojner. The controversial tower project was initially viewed positively by her and the Greens. Later, however, more and more criticism came.

Chorherr advised her not to continue Heumarkt’s initiation process – but at the same time assured her that he would support her if she put the project to a vote. Finally, a “pause for reflection” followed on orders from Vassilakou. The mix of functions on the site and especially the height of the high-rise were controversial.

Chorherr was “definitely” someone she consulted with – but certainly not the only one or the authoritative one, as she claimed. She knew he was active in a charitable organization. She also bought a photo for charity at Chorherr’s birthday party, as Vassilakou explained. Such commitments were not uncommon. She estimated that about 90 percent of city council members were active in clubs.

Former green mandatar Chorherr is accused of demanding or accepting payments from well-known real estate companies for a non-profit organization he founded. This supports children and school projects in Africa.

Abuse of Office and Bribery
In return, the donors would have promised themselves benefits in the dedication process. The Public Prosecutor’s Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption (WKStA) accuses Chorherr of abuse of office and bribery, the entrepreneurial provision for abuse of office and bribery in various forms of employee participation. The co-defendants include the investor René Benko, the industrialist Tojner and the real estate developers Erwin Soravia and Günter Kerbler. All defendants have pleaded not guilty.