Political earthquake

Kurz’s guilty verdict: his bitterest hour

Surprising verdict for former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz: the 37-year-old was acquitted of two of the three charges brought by the WKStA. However, he was sentenced for one fact: 8 months conditional imprisonment.

(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

Former Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz was sentenced to eight months' conditional imprisonment for making false statements to the U Committee on the twelfth day of the trial at the Vienna Regional Court. His former head of cabinet, Bonelli, received a six-month sentence (also conditional). The verdict is not final. Politically, however, no stone will be left unturned.

"I am very surprised by the verdict. I think it's very unfair and I'm now hoping for the second instance". It is the reaction that was expected from Sebastian Kurz. The former ÖVP chancellor was somewhat subdued, but nevertheless combative after the non-appealable conviction for false testimony in the Ibiza U Committee.

Judge: Crown witness candidate Schmid "credible"
 He received a conditional sentence of eight months, his former head of cabinet Bernhard Bonelli six months. WKStA Chief Public Prosecutor Gregor Adamovic had a slight smile on his face, as Radasztics was following the prosecution's argument with this hammer sentence. However, there was another reason for satisfaction at the WKStA: Judge Radasztics judged the key witness candidate Thomas Schmid to be "credible".

"Sloppy mistakes" in Thomas Schmid's curriculum vitae

(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

Kurz: "My life continues as it did yesterday"
In contrast, the judge found it completely unrealistic that Schmid had confided to two Russians during a job interview in the summer of 2023 that he was cooperating with the WKStA and therefore did not always tell the truth. "The fact that Schmid - just a few months after applying for crown witness status - is talking out of his ass is unworldly."

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The guilty verdict for Kurz relates specifically to the appointment to the supervisory board of the state holding company ÖBAG. Kurz was questioned about his involvement in this in the U Committee. "Overall, you give the impression that you essentially had nothing to do with it," said Judge Michael Radasztics. However, statements in the evidentiary proceedings painted a different picture, according to Radasztics. Although the supervisory board members questioned gave the same testimony, "you don't know what other people discussed beforehand, so their statements should be treated with caution."

The public prosecutors Koch and Adamovic

(Bild: APA/Helmut Fohringer)

Why exactly Kurz was convicted

The guilty verdict for former Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz relates specifically to the appointment to the supervisory board of the state holding company ÖBAG. Kurz had been questioned about his involvement in this in the U Committee. Both he and Bernhard Bonelli had played down his involvement - primarily with the argument that the candidates favored by Kurz, such as the entrepreneur Sigi Wolf, had not been appointed anyway. Nevertheless, the court was of the opinion that Kurz had falsely given the impression that he had not been involved and did not convict him of making false statements.

Kurz tried to demonstrate composure
There was an acquittal on the question of whether Kurz was only "informed" or "involved" in the appointment of Thomas Schmid as ÖBAG's sole board member. Kurz tried to demonstrate composure in the face of the judge's decision: "This is not life-changing for me. My life will go on tomorrow just as it did yesterday."

I've never claimed that I'm a free spirit, and I don't know how that can happen out of sloppiness.

Sebastian Kurz über Thomas Schmid

The WKStA never exerted any pressure on me. These two gentlemen told the untruth.

Schmid über die Behauptung der Russen

A deliberately set trap cannot be ruled out.

Oberstaatsanwalt Roland Koch über Schmids Treffen mit den Russen in Amsterdam

You can't say that if seven witnesses testify for one defendant and one against, then you add them up like in a soccer match.

Richter Radasztics in der Urteilsbegründung

Kurz made the false statements to avoid public and media criticism for posturing.

damovic über das Motiv von Kurz

Please ask short questions, otherwise we are 'lost in translation'.

Richter Radasztics über die schwierige Übersetzung des russischen Zeugen

A closing statement as a defendant is one of the most humiliating situations I have ever experienced.

Ex-Kabinettschef Bernhard Bonelli

If everything is so clear, why do you need 26 months for the evidentiary proceedings? Why 27 witnesses? Why a 108-page criminal complaint?

Werner Suppan, Anwalt von Bonelli, zu den Korruptionsjägern

Prosecution with a clear message
Chief public prosecutor Gregor Adamovic opened the closing statement with a clear message: "Rarely has a case of false testimony been as clear-cut as that of Sebastian Kurz". Former Chancellor Kurz and his former head of cabinet Bernhard Bonelli had "not only controlled the message". Personnel decisions were also a top priority for the former Turkish superstar Kurz. According to Adamovic, this fact can be "clearly read from the turquoise-blue government side letter".

Difficult decision for judge Michael Radasztics. He conducted the delicate trial with a steady hand and did not let anyone look at his cards. Until the very end, it was not clear which verdict he was leaning towards.

(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

Chief public prosecutor Gregor Adamovic opened his closing statement with a clear message: "Rarely has a case of false testimony been as clear-cut as that of Sebastian Kurz". Former Chancellor Kurz and his former head of cabinet Bernhard Bonelli had "not only controlled the message". Personnel decisions were also a top priority for the former Turkish superstar Kurz. According to Adamovic, this fact can be "clearly read from the turquoise-blue government side letter".

Former Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz leaving the court building

(Bild: APA/MAX SLOVENCIK)

The defense's counterattack fell flat. "Sebastian Kurz did not give false testimony in the investigative committee," Kurz's defense lawyer Otto Dietrich pleaded. In reality, the WKStA was accusing his client of "their own interpretation of his statement".

Kurz did not want to destroy his media image
Kurz himself also took the floor a few minutes before the verdict was announced - affirming, at times in a tearful voice: "I can't remember every detail. But I went to the U Committee with the intention of not ending up here. I went there with that goal in mind. I admit that I wasn't perfectly prepared. "

But back to the closing statements: For the WKStA, Kurz was "never and never only a recipient of information". Without Kurz, there was no decision. Kurz and his confidants had discussed, the then chancellor had the final say, WKStA chief prosecutor Adamovic argued further. "Ministers who were formally responsible became executors."

The WKStA identified the image that Kurz had built up during the 2017 election campaign as the motive for the false statement. He was seen as a politician with a new style - which does not fit in with post haggling. With the (not legally binding) guilty verdict, the image of the former Turkish superstar is buried for now.