Ibiza-U-Committee: autumn polls start with Sobotka – politics

Ibiza’s commission of inquiry also has to dispense with Corpus Delicti at the start of its fall meetings: the video recorded on the Spanish island that blew up the turquoise blue government. However, this fact should not diminish interest, because the president of the commission himself, the president of the National Council Wolfgang Sobotka (ÖVP), will be questioned at the beginning of Wednesday.

If the opposition has its way, Sobotka himself could be part of a suspicious network around corruption and law enforcement. The argument of the SPÖ and NEOS is that the politician ÖVP is also president of the “Alois Mock Institute”. This St. Pölten-based association has received money in recent years from the Novomatic gambling group, whose involvement in the casino affair and alleged hidden party donations are being examined in committee.

Sobotka is also accused by the opposition of hindering the work of the committee itself. Because it was the president of the National Council who rejected the offer of a German lawyer to broadcast the entire video for legal reasons. Unsurprisingly, representatives of other parties were enraged when the “Kurier” announced this week that he had seen the material.

Despite the accusations, Sobotka was and is not ready to resign from his presidency. Due to his questioning on Wednesday, he will be represented by the second president of the National Council, Doris Bures (SPÖ), throughout the day. Former Novomatic director of corporate communications Bernhard Krumpel and Markus Braun, a member of the Sigma Investment AG board and a liberal ORF board of directors, are also questioned.

Thursday begins with a former member of the government of the turquoise blue coalition: former Finance Minister Hartwig Löger (ÖVP), who could not provide more information in the first installment of the surveys due to lack of time. He is accused of WhatsApp messages, including former Vice Chancellor and FPÖ President Heinz-Christian Strache, about alleged hacking in casinos.

Even after the Löger poll, the game is still the topic. The parliamentarians then await information from Bettina Glatz-Kremsner, CEO of Casinos Austria AG, and from the former member of the Casinos board, Dietmar Hoscher. It remains to be seen if everyone can testify before the U-Committee on both committee days. At the meetings leading up to the summer break, this was just a state of emergency. For the fall session, the start of the poll for the third respondent was moved from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm For a poll to begin after 6 pm, political groups still need a unanimous decision.

The expectations of parliamentary groups for the autumn polls diverge. While the representatives of the former government factions ÖVP and FPÖ cannot, as expected, identify a network of corruption among their former top representatives, the SPÖ, NEOS and Greens are already on a hot track.

The SPÖ wants to delve deeper into the “Kurz System” and, from the beginning, the presumed role of the President of the National Council, Wolfgang Sobotka (ÖVP), as president of the “Alois Mock Institute” in it. “Are there associations of this type through which donations can be made beyond the Court of Auditors?” Asks the leader of the red parliamentary group Jan Krainer. And the SPÖ is not the only one still waiting in vain for Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) to send quotes, emails and other documents.

Burgenland Governor Hans Peter Doskozil (SPÖ) will also be interviewed on the subject of clubs in the fall. The former executive and head of the liberal club Johann Gudenus had claimed that it had given him the impetus to found the “Institute for Security Policy” (ISP), which he enlightened on the committee. And with Thomas Drozda, another SPÖ politician is also invited at the request of the ÖVP. What Krainer wants to ask his fellow party members: “‘Do you know why you are here?’ At least we don’t. “

The leader of the NEOS parliamentary group, Stephanie Krisper, also wants to feel Sobotka. In a discussion of possible bias as chair of the inquiry commission, the latter did not provide any satisfactory answer; now the only remaining option is the commission itself. All in all, you can expect thematically varied weeks with big themes in fall. In any case, the ÖVP failed to interrupt the investigation, says Krisper.

As expected, Sobotka will be protected by her own representatives on the committee. For the leader of the faction Wolfgang Gerstl, the opposition tries to take action against him with “constructed accusations”. Rather, Gerstl is interested in finally getting the Ibiza video, a wish he shares with all MPs.

Gerstl also wants, like the Freedom Party, to invite Burgenland SPÖ Provincial Councilor Christian Illedits, who resigned due to acceptance of gifts, to the committee to investigate a possible connection to the Novomatic gaming group. The ÖVP has already imposed itself with the burden of Doskozil. It will depend on your questioning whether the appearance of his predecessor Hans Niessl (SPÖ) is also required.

Despite the video from Ibiza, the Freedom Party sees less of its own party mates than its former coalition partner ÖVP suspects. For example, in the “shredder affair”, in which an employee of Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz’s (ÖVP) cabinet destroyed hard drives under a false name. The leader of the FPÖ parliamentary group, Christian Hafenecker, suspects that not only the hard drives of the printers, but also the data carriers of the laptops could have been destroyed.

The FPÖ continues to insist on the -secret- interrogation of the owner of Soko Tape, Andreas Holzer, whom it sees biased in his role due to the alleged proximity of the ÖVP. And last but not least, Hafenecker is annoyed by the numerous apologies from respondents due to their health condition. “We want to implement the possibility of video polls,” he demands in an interview with the APA.

The leader of the Greens parliamentary group, Nina Tomaselli, got her own start with a panel discussion. For them, the Ibiza video was just a “starting shot” to see more closely a possible “political system” for the purchase of the law. “We found an incredible amount,” summed up early polls. Expect even deeper insights, for example, about the work of former FPÖ president Heinz-Christian Strache for a private clinic operator in the fall.