Stomping ground for spies
Russian agent thriller gives politicians a leg up
After the revelations about Russian espionage in the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, there is a thirst for action. Austria's political parties want tougher laws.
Vienna has been a hotbed for agents ever since the 1949 film classic "The Third Man", a tradition that goes back to the days of the monarchy. So far, everyone has lived well with it.
Spy thriller triggers hectic rush
The latest revelations about Russian spies in the constitutional service have suddenly triggered a flurry of activity in domestic politics. Suddenly everyone wants to change the laws - but at least there is unity for once, even the FPÖ is on board. This development has to do not least with Russia's new role as a clear enemy.
The ÖVP insists on more online surveillance
Justice Minister Alma Zadić (Greens) has led the way by announcing a tightening of the espionage paragraph. In future, espionage by foreign intelligence services will not only be punishable in this country if it is directed against Austrian interests, but also if other states or international organizations are spied on. This has not been the case until now.
The coalition partner ÖVP and all other parliamentary parties support the proposal. Even the Freedom Party can imagine tougher penalties. However, the People's Party links its approval to enabling the monitoring of messenger services such as WhatsApp or Telegram (keyword: federal Trojan).
"Quickly derive a law on measures"
This demand by the ÖVP, which has been on the table for some time, has so far been rejected by the Greens. "What is now coming to light is worrying for me as Chancellor. It is now a question of how quickly and how quickly we can use this information to derive a law on measures so that the judiciary can do its job and push ahead with the investigations in cooperation with the security authorities," party leader and Federal Chancellor Nehammer told the newspaper "Krone".
In my view, it is therefore important to change the legal situation, as proposed by the Minister of Justice, with the addition that this only makes sense if the defense is also strengthened. I can only combat espionage effectively if the services are given sufficient tools to do so. That means electronic reconnaissance that enables rapid intervention."
Espionage affair as an election campaign issue
Unsurprisingly, the affair surrounding the Russian spy in the former BVT is also being used for the election campaign. The ÖVP refers almost daily to the alleged spy Egisto Ott's links to the FPÖ, SPÖ, NEOS and ex-politician Peter Pilz.
Kommentare
Willkommen in unserer Community! Eingehende Beiträge werden geprüft und anschließend veröffentlicht. Bitte achten Sie auf Einhaltung unserer Netiquette und AGB. Für ausführliche Diskussionen steht Ihnen ebenso das krone.at-Forum zur Verfügung. Hier können Sie das Community-Team via unserer Melde- und Abhilfestelle kontaktieren.
User-Beiträge geben nicht notwendigerweise die Meinung des Betreibers/der Redaktion bzw. von Krone Multimedia (KMM) wieder. In diesem Sinne distanziert sich die Redaktion/der Betreiber von den Inhalten in diesem Diskussionsforum. KMM behält sich insbesondere vor, gegen geltendes Recht verstoßende, den guten Sitten oder der Netiquette widersprechende bzw. dem Ansehen von KMM zuwiderlaufende Beiträge zu löschen, diesbezüglichen Schadenersatz gegenüber dem betreffenden User geltend zu machen, die Nutzer-Daten zu Zwecken der Rechtsverfolgung zu verwenden und strafrechtlich relevante Beiträge zur Anzeige zu bringen (siehe auch AGB). Hier können Sie das Community-Team via unserer Melde- und Abhilfestelle kontaktieren.