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It was an icy mood that made itself felt at the Ibiza U-Committee on Tuesday. Skirmishes over an anonymous report and personal attacks dominated the day. However, there was no progress in terms of content.
It was already clear from the introductory words of the informant, Ms. L., that a strong wind would be blowing that day. Due to their personal relationships, the Greens, Neos, FPÖ and SPÖ see L. as a link between the Novomatic gaming group and the ÖVP.
L. is the wife of a senior Novomatic manager, Novomatic founder Johann Graf is her father’s cousin. The lawyer initially worked as a prosecutor and judge. She was then assigned to the office of the president of the National Council Wolfgang Sobotka (ÖVP). Later he also worked slightly in the cabinet of Interior Minister Karl Nehammer (ÖVP).
The woman criticized the fact that her personal data was known in a dubious way. She complained about the violation of her personal rights. While the FPÖ respected their privacy in a parliamentary question, they were mentioned by their full name in a question from the Neos.
His full name was also reported in the media. As was also written about his place of residence, this led to strangers standing in front of his house: “They took pictures of me and my children.”
Harsh words against the deputies
L. was also tough on the deputies. Some of them would like to be “prosecutors, judges and moral in personal union”. Neos faction leader Stephanie Krisper also accused her of “legal ignorance.”
The mood cooled even more during the survey. To a large extent, it was marked by tough debates over rules of procedure and verbal battles. L. made extensive use of his right of refusal. He repeatedly referred to the ongoing financial criminal proceedings against him. These are generous monetary gifts L. received from his uncle Graf.
So L. did not want to answer the question why he sent his CV to people in the state of Lower Austria, run by the ÖVP. SPÖ MP Christoph Matznetter said: “She refuses because she would incriminate herself.” MP Andreas Hager (ÖVP), who represented Sobotka as president of protection, did not want to leave him standing: “A refusal is not automatically an admission of guilt.”
L. emphasized that he only told Sobotka about his relatives with Graf during a company visit to Novomatic. This visit was a “routine visit,” the informant said.
Greens and Neos wanted to know if L. had seen the work of “Soko Tape”, who was investigating the Ibiza video, while working in the cabinet of the Ministry of the Interior. L. denied it, especially with the deputy David Stögmüller (Greens) L. collided with each other. Stögmüller asked her if Graf had helped her get a job. She said it was amazing that the Greens in particular portrayed an image of women in which women need certain relationships to get a job. Elsewhere, L. told Stögmüller: “You obviously see a lot of thrillers.”
Dispute about the ad
There were also debates on other fronts. The leader of the ÖVP parliamentary group, Wolfgang Gerstl, reported an anonymous tip that was leaked to him. In it, the leaders of the SPÖ, Neos and Greens are accused of trying to influence the statement of former Novomatic managing director Peter Barthold in the committee. Krisper identified “cheap fun.” The leader of the green parliamentary group, Nina Tomaselli, described the accusation as “nonsense”. Jan Krainer of the SPÖ was amused by the accusations.
The tax official was puzzled
The questioning of a tax official working in the field of gambling law was calmer. He noted that his department had never found out why the gambling novel, which was submitted for evaluation in early 2018, was withdrawn: “It has not been reported at home that it has been withdrawn, nor who started it. He had never experienced anything like this in his 35-year career.
Other respondents said that something had gone wrong in the amendment in the coordination between ÖVP and FPÖ, in the so-called reflex. The law never went into effect.
The “muzzle decree”, which is the instruction in the Hartwig Löger Ministry of Finance (ÖVP), according to which officials cannot communicate directly with the Secretary of State Hubert Fuchs (FPÖ) responsible for the game, he “has never seen this way “in his long career. In terms of gaming, everything went through Löger’s cabinet, the official said: “We did it.” And that for longer than expected, since “they did not find out” about the cancellation of the instruction.
