Kickl agreed

U-committee: Blue celebrities are coming after all

The ÖVP has invited the leader of the Freedom Party to provide information.

(Bild: APA/Tobias Steinmaurer)

The start of the committee on "red-blue abuse of power" was botched: former Secretary General of the Ministry of the Interior Peter Goldgruber refused to testify, an entire day of questioning was canceled due to a massive loss of witnesses. Some prominent witnesses are now expected to testify next week, including FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl.

The next round of the parliamentary committee of inquiry set up by the ÖVP starts on Wednesday. It is not about alleged red abuse of power, the People's Party is concentrating fully on the FPÖ for reasons of time and election tactics.

Head of the Court of Audit is questioned
Court of Audit President Margit Kraker has been invited as the first person to provide information. The People's Party hopes that she will shed light on the term of office of the former blue Social Affairs Minister Beate Hartinger-Klein.

Former minister Hartinger-Klein has confirmed her attendance this time.

(Bild: EXPA/Gruber)

From January 2018 to May 2019, Hartinger-Klein was also responsible for labor and health in Sebastian Kurz's first cabinet. Kraker had criticized the lack of access to files from the FPÖ minister's time in office.

Penalty threatens
The President of the Court of Audit is followed by a senior official from the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, who is expected to talk about Kickl's time in office as Minister of the Interior. Hartinger-Klein herself, who was also invited by the ÖVP, is expected to be the last person to provide information on Wednesday. She had already canceled once, which is why she is also facing a penalty for defending herself. Now there is an official promise.

Thursday will then be dominated by the questioning of Kickl, who has given a firm commitment. Reinhard Teufel, who was Kickl's head of cabinet as interior minister, has also confirmed his attendance - once again. He had actually already agreed to appear at the start of the U Committee, but was then disinvited by the ÖVP only to be invited again. Teufel is now FPÖ parliamentary party leader in the Lower Austrian state parliament, where there is a turquoise-blue coalition.

An employee of the FPÖ's communications department was also invited again and will now have another chance to answer questions on Thursday. His attendance is still open. The first person to provide information on Thursday is a lawyer in the Ministry of the Interior. He was also deputy office manager of the General Secretariat under Peter Goldgruber.