Social benefits for dog ‘joke’ causes a stir

A Green Party official has asked prosecutors to investigate against a right-wing politician over a controversial joke he posted on his Facebook profile.Gottfried Plichta of the Freedom Party’s (FPÖ) branch in the Lower Austrian town of Hirtenberg wrote on his page of the social networking platform that his dog was granted welfare benefits “because he is black, unemployed, lazy and doesn’t speak German.”Greens MP Dieter Brosz branded the statement “disgusting and misanthropic”, while Plichta argued today (Fri) it was “just a joke”.State prosecutors had no comment on whether they planned to open a criminal case over the issue.