The Social Democrats (SPÖ) and regional power brokers have attacked Maria Fekter. The People’s Party (ÖVP) finance minister announced yesterday (Mon) she wanted to sanction provincial governments which breached the harsh new budget rules. Fekter said the agreement between the federal government and the provinces should not expire in 2017. The SPÖ-ÖVP coalition wants to […]
Social Democratic (SPÖ) Chancellor Werner Faymann is still facing abuse of office charges, it emerged yesterday (Thurs). The Chief Prosecution of Vienna (OStA) announced it advised prosecutors to keep examining whether Faymann applied pressure on state-funded railroad company Federal Railways (ÖBB) over a series of ads in Austria’s most popular newspaper. There have been contradictory […]
Viennese state prosecutors got the green light to investigate against Werner Amon. A juridical committee rejected the People’s Party (ÖVP) parliament member’s appeal to withdraw the case from the Viennese prosecution. Amon is suspected of money laundering. An agency once headed by lobbyist Peter Hochegger transferred 10,000 Euros to the Federal Workers’ and Employees’ Association […]
A heated debate has erupted following a radical traffic reform idea by the Viennese Greens. The party said on Wednesday cyclists should be allowed to cross junctions or turn right at red light in some cases. Special traffic lights could be established to introduce the model used in other European cities, the Greens said. Christoph […]
Former Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) Vice Chancellor Hubert Gorbach attended several hunting trips of a weapon industry and telecommunication technology lobbyist, according to leaked documents. Magazine News reports today (Thurs) that Gorbach took part in the hunting outings organised by Alfons Mensdorff-Pouilly. The lobbyist is married to ex-People’s Party (ÖVP) General Secretary […]
Othmar Karas has claimed that there would already be a tax on financial transactions if the European Parliament (EP) had the final say. Karas – who heads the EP delegation of the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) – said today (Weds) current European Union (EU) regulations kept the union from acting efficiently. He told the Kurier […]
High-ranking representatives of the Freedom Party (FPÖ) have defended controversial slogans of the party’s Tyrolean department. The rightist party’s Innsbruck branch warned from “Moroccan thieves” in rhyme on a recently presented poster. The slogan was part of the FPÖ’s campaign for the upcoming Innsbruck city hall ballot. Residents of the provincial capital of Tyrol will […]
Rudolf Hundstorfer has said that “clarity, transparency and comprehensibility” were needed to improve the reputation of Austrian politics. The Social Democratic (SPÖ) labour minister was asked to organise the activities of a special group of government members. The panel, which consists of SPÖ whip Josef Cap and People’s Party (ÖVP) Economy Minister Reinhold Mitterlehner among […]
The new governor of Vorarlberg has criticised the government for its “politics of announcements”. Markus Wallner of the People’s Party (ÖVP) – who succeeded Herbert Sausgruber as head of the western province in December 2011 – said yesterday (Thurs) the federal government coalition of Social Democrats (SPÖ) and ÖVP must reset its course. He appealed […]
The opposition plans to organise a series of extraordinary parliamentary meetings to raise the pressure on the People’s Party (ÖVP). Members of parliament (MPs) representing the ÖVP in the anti-corruption commission dramatically reduced the number of witnesses to be questioned concerning the Federal Workers’ and Employees’ Association (ÖAAB) controversy. A magazine published by the organisation, […]