Ibiza Committee of Inquiry
Witness: Kurz influenced the appointment of positions
December 11, 2023, 3:34 p.m
Sebastian Kurz has to answer to the Vienna Regional Court on suspicion of making false statements in the “Ibiza affair”. Now an important witness is heavily incriminating Austria’s former chancellor. Contrary to his statements, Kurz is said to have played an active role in the appointment of his confidant.
According to an important witness, Austria’s former chancellor Sebastian Kurz had a significant influence on the filling of positions at the state holding company Öbag. When submitting names for the Öbag supervisory board, the then head of government and his team gave a yes or no, said former Öbag boss Thomas Schmid before the Vienna regional court. “That was a right of veto,” said Schmid.
Kurz has to answer on suspicion of making false statements. According to the prosecution, he is said to have downplayed his role in filling Öbag’s positions during his testimony in the parliamentary Ibiza committee of inquiry in 2020. The then popular chancellor, who had promised a new style, did not want to come under suspicion of haggling for positions, according to the public prosecutor’s office regarding the possible motive. Kurz denies the allegations.
Schmid, who was part of the then Chancellor’s inner circle, was head of the state holding company that manages the country’s billion-dollar company investments from 2019 to 2021. The 48-year-old is being investigated in several other cases. He is aiming for star witness status. He has now made a fresh start, says Schmid. “Today I have nothing more to do with Mr. Kurz.” In principle, it was clear to everyone at the time that important personnel decisions had to be coordinated closely with the top of the government, Schmid continued. From his perspective, it was always clear to him that Kurz supported his ambitions.
Before the start of the negotiation, Kurz was confident. “I believe that today will open some people’s eyes to the methods used here,” said the 37-year-old. The former finance ministers Gernot Blümel and Hartwig Löger will soon be invited to the trial.
The reason for the investigation was the Ibiza affair. In a video secretly recorded on the holiday island, the then FPÖ leader Heinz-Christian Strache appeared vulnerable to corruption. The coalition of ÖVP and FPÖ collapsed in 2019 due to the affair. Ex-ÖBAG boss Schmid’s cell phone played a central role in the search for evidence of nepotism and corruption during Kurz’s government. More than 300,000 chats – often considered incriminating by the public prosecutor’s office – were a treasure trove for the investigators. Schmid himself offered himself as a key witness in the affair and repeatedly incriminated Kurz, with whom he had a close relationship.