Ministry tight-lipped

Lease agreements at Schönbrunn as a “secret matter”

After 25 years in Schönbrunn, the Viennese café family Querfeld also had to withdraw from the snack bar. It remains unclear why.

(Bild: Querfeld GmbH)

The multi-million euro business with the restaurants and seasonal markets at Schönbrunn is apparently supposed to remain "confidential" and secret for the owner - the taxpayers. There are plenty of inconsistencies in the details of the recent change of tenant, which are nevertheless known.

Schönbrunn is not only a landmark and tourist magnet for the city, but also a multi-million euro business owned by the taxpayers. They are apparently not supposed to know what is going on in "their company". The most recent example: the contracts for the catering and seasonal markets in Schönbrunn were recently re-awarded.

Corporate giant beats family business out of the field
As a result of the new tender, the Viennese café family Querfeld (as reported by the "Krone") had to leave the field to the gastronomy multinational GMS, itself a subsidiary of the food giant Vivatis. When the Querfelds wanted to fight the decision in court, Schönbrunn-GmbH suddenly withdrew its own justification for the lease decision and suddenly gave a completely different reason for the new award.

The case made the Greens prick up their ears. They submitted a parliamentary question to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, which is responsible for Schönbrunn GmbH. "Unfortunately, the ministry's response was extremely incomplete," Elisabeth Götze, member of the National Council, told the "Krone" newspaper.

Schönbrunn belongs to the Republic and therefore to the taxpayers. They have a right to information.

Nationalratsabgeordnete Elisabeth Götze (Grüne)

Bild: Die Grünen

The Ministry declared that almost all questions about the content of the contract were "confidential". The ministry also does not want to reveal what made GMS the most suitable new tenant. After all, the Querfelds could point to 25 years of Schönbrunn experience. GMS had presented "a reference project", the ministry said without giving any further details.

For Götze, it remains to be seen whether the contracts in Schönbrunn are "fair and transparent". At the very least, however, the ministry's silence is proof of how urgently the forthcoming Freedom of Information Act was needed. The law, which the Greens were finally able to get the coalition partner ÖVP to implement, will allow citizens to make their own inquiries about all public matters from 2025.