Political developments in Austria set in motion yesterday’s rather sudden departure from the policy of former Chancellor Sebastian Kurtz, who faces charges of infidelity and corruption. The ruling People’s Party (ÖVP) announced on Friday afternoon that 49-year-old Interior Minister Carl Nehamer had been appointed new chancellor and party leader. It is recalled that as soon as it became known that Kurtz left politics, at noon on Thursday, his temporary replacement in the chancellery, Alexander Salenberg, submitted his resignation, while a little later, the Minister of Finance, Gernot Blumel, also resigned.
Austrian analysts estimate that the new chancellor’s main priority will be to continue co-governing with the Greens until the end of the 2024 parliamentary term, avoiding early elections. This is because, according to opinion polls, the People’s Party, which under the leadership of Sebastian Kurtz had won the 2019 elections with 37.5% of the vote, is now falling to second place in the preferences, behind the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) . However, Kurtz himself denies the allegations of corruption and even states that he “looks forward to the day of judgment” to prove his innocence.
The profile of the new chancellor
Some politicians are said to be “party soldiers”. According to the newspaper Der Standard, this is absolutely true for the new Chancellor of Austria, not only because he is a reserve officer, but mainly because he owes his career to the absolute loyalty he has shown to Sebastian Kurtz. From 2017, when Kurtz took over the leadership of the PVP, Nehamer rose from a simple member of parliament to the party’s secretary general, and then took over the interior ministry, although he probably preferred the defense ministry.
From this position Nehamer created the profile of the “tough” negotiator in the refugee. Thus, unlike Germany, Austria refused to receive even one minor from the Moria refugee camp after the 2020 fire. of the Greens and this is a valuable resource in his attempt to remain in the chancellery until 2024, avoiding early elections.
Small invitations between friends…
At the same time, Libération puts the Austrian EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn in the “frame” of corruption. According to the French newspaper, in December 2015, Khan, along with his then partner, had responded to an invitation to hunt in the Loire Valley, organized by the lobbyists of the European Landowners’ Organization. He also participated with ten other guests at a dinner at the famous medieval tower of Sambor. The dinner bill, amounting to 2,178 euros, was paid by the… European Court of Auditors. All this is not explicitly prohibited, but must be declared in the “Transparency Register” of the European Commission, in accordance with current legislation, something that the Austrian Commissioner has omitted.
A spokesman for Johannes Hahn told Libération that the dinner at Sampor Tower was not on the Transparency Register because it was strictly private and unrelated to the Commissioner’s official activities. As for the invitation to hunt, the representative clarifies that the Commissioner was the one who accompanied his partner and not the other way around, as only she had a hunting license.
Giannis Papadimitriou (DPA, ORF, Der Standard)
DW
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