The OECD Working Group on Bribery regrets that Austria has not had a conviction of bribing foreign public officials despite a number of allegations, 13 years after ratifying the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. However, enforcement appears to be picking up, with one case being tried, two more cases soon to be tried, and four ongoing investigations. […]
Mud fight continues in Salzburg
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A bitter row between the conservative People’s party ÖVP and the social Democrats SPÖ in the regional parliament in Salzburg is continuing to interrupts the smooth running of government. The row centres about responsibility for the investment of taxpayers money in risky financial investments and the possible loss of several hundred million euros. In advance […]
Experts have criticised the offer of extending the Kinderbetreuungsgeld – the payment made to new parents – for two months in cases of hardship because the process is too complicated. The reasons for the extension of the child allowance can be violence in a relationship, prison or an extended period of sickness or even the […]
Stronach tempts another BZÖ politician
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A councillor from the BZÖ has changed his political allegiance to join “Team Stronach”. The newlyformed political party set up by Austro Canadian multimillionaire Frank Stronach has poached many politicians from rival parties but the BZÖ has suffered particularly badly from losing its members. The latest desertion is of Michael Schabernig, aged 30. Announcing the […]
Parliament to be renovated for 500m
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The search has begun for a contractor to take responsibility for the 500 million euro renovation of Vienna’s historic parliamentary building. According to a government spokesman the successful contractor will be sought by inviting tenders from across Europe. Specifications for the contract will be made available in the middle of next month. In the first […]
Eduard Paulus, director of the public asset management of the federal state Salzburg, who should have supervised the rogue portfolio manager that gambled away close to 340 million Euro in the recent financial scandal, is still not facing sanctions. Paulus is a representatives of the Austrian Peoples Party (ÖVP), and so far only a member […]
Lower Austrian election date fixed
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Lower Austria’s regional Governor Erwin Pröll has announced plans for the elections in the region to take place next year on 3 March. Announcing the decision he said that the work of the local government would continue right up until the last minute and that the election campaign that followed, which would probably start on […]
More speculation in regional councils
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The region of Velden in Carinthia is the latest named as having been involved in risky financial investments after losing close to 500,000 Euros of taxpayers money. If correct it will mean Velden is the latest in a number of local government bodies that has tried to profit from speculative investments. Now that the tide […]
By Matthias Loinig The year 2013 is going to start off an expensive one for more than 2,500 people living in Vienna housing associations. The reason is that building contracts that were signed 60 years ago will run out from the end of 2012. Many of the buildings were built in the 1920s when there […]
Austrian Canadian businessman Frank Stronach has invested another 1,000,000 euros in his political party which he founded recently to fight in the next election in Austria. According to a new law from the first of July any donations over 50,000 euros need to be registered with the Federal auditors. That means also any donations made […]