Wounded pride?

Kerschbaum critic courted for Brucknerhaus job

The fact that the Linz NEOS city party leader Georg Redlhammer applied for a board position at the Brucknerhaus is anything but reprehensible, but leaves a somewhat skewed impression in this case.

(Bild: Harald Dostal, Bulavina Krone KREATIV,)

After the Kerschbaum revelations in "Falter", the indignation of Linz NEOS city party leader Georg Redlhammer was immense. Since then, he has been outraged almost daily about the scandal at the Brucknerhaus. Where - as has now come to light - he would have liked to have worked himself, but did not get the board position he was aiming for. Skewed optics? Not for him at all.

First of all: the following story doesn't change anything about the Kerschbaum case and the accusations made, it just seems to be another extremely sleazy act in the Linz cultural tragedy.

Review: When the "Falter" reported on Tuesday evening last week about serious accusations against LIVA boss Dietmar Kerschbaum, a Linz city politician became unusually vocal for the first time. Shortly after the article appeared, NEOS leader Georg Redlhammer demanded the immediate dismissal of the artistic director.

Dietmar Kerschbaum (archive photo)

(Bild: Wenzel Markus)

NEOS leader "fired" sharply right from the start
And even in the days that followed, he often came up with unusually pointed press releases in which he pilloried the entire Linz city government, for example, when he said: "I was a silent voice in the wilderness and could not stand up to the concentrated power of the proportional government." Or when he praised the "Falter" editor on social media with the following words: "In her, I unexpectedly found a comrade-in-arms against the artistic director's supposed in-your-face dealings and waste of money at the Brucknerhaus in Linz. I almost wanted to give up."

These are all circumstances that seem extremely strange, especially to City Hall insiders, because when the critical audit report became public last summer, Redlhammer, as Chairman of the Audit Committee, had still lacked any indignation.

"Yes, I did apply"
However, his indignation now appears in a slightly different light to outsiders. Because it has now become known that the NEOS city party leader applied for the job of commercial director himself. But without success. Allegedly, he even asked Dietmar Kerschbaum for an appointment before his hearing, also without success.

That is a lie. I didn't need Mr. Kerschbaum, as I was familiar with the inspection office report.

Georg Redlhammer, NEOS-Stadtparteichef

Confronted with this by the "Krone", Georg Redlhammer reacted calmly after the municipal council meeting: "I never made a secret of my application, I wanted to set an example. But as I'm not riding the coattails of the person who got the job, I don't see anything wrong with it. He's now the big winner and I'm happy about that." He vehemently denies that he asked for an appointment before his hearing: "That's a lie. I didn't need Mr. Kerschbaum, I knew the inspection office report."