No bending penalty

Trendy restaurateur Martin Ho summoned before the U-Committee

(Bild: leisure communications/Christian Jobst)

The last regular week of questioning by the U Committee on the "red-blue abuse of power" will once again feature prominent witnesses. In addition to the second appearance of FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl, ex-BVT director Peter Gridling and, at the request of the FPÖ, the trendy restaurateur Martin Ho will also be called to testify on May 7 and 8. However, it is questionable whether the witnesses will also appear in parliament. Due to the tight deadline, the parliamentary groups cannot apply for a penalty for non-appearance. 

The summonses were issued on Thursday afternoon and must be collected by the interrogators within ten days, i.e. in the case of those summoned today only after their questioning date. Alexis Pascuttini, a local councillor who has been expelled from the Graz FPÖ, has already announced that he will answer all questions. His willingness to do so will also be important for his questioning on Tuesday, as the financial scandal of the Graz Freedom Party is not really covered by the subject matter. The Ministry of Justice has refused to provide files on this basis, and questions on the subject have already been refused in the committee itself. However, a person providing information may answer voluntarily.

Kickl's second appearance
The second questioning of Kickl is also scheduled for Tuesday. The other parties saw his first appearance in mid-April as a "set-up" between him and his Secretary General, Christian Hafenecker, who leads the FPÖ parliamentary group on the committee.

Herbert Kickl will be summoned to appear before the U-Committee once again.

(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

NEOS want to summon Gudenus
It is still somewhat uncertain who will actually be summoned on Wednesday. The NEOS originally wanted to summon the former Viennese FPÖ leader Johann Gudenus and question him about relations with Russia. However, as it became apparent that he would probably not have kept the appointment, the Pinks now want to question the former Secretary General of the Austrian-Russian Friendship Society, Florian Stermann.

This will probably already serve as a harbinger for a Russia-U committee after the National Council elections: "We want to question him about the systematic data highway between Jan Marsalek and FP politician Gudenus. Files prove that Stermann requested top-secret information from Gudenus on behalf of Jan Marsalek and passed it on," NEOS parliamentary group leader Yannick Shetty told APA.

Questionable what Martin Ho is supposed to say
At the request of the FPÖ, Viennese restaurateur Martin Ho has also been summoned to appear on Wednesday - although it is questionable to what extent he will be able to testify as a witness on the subject of the investigation if he does appear. The former director of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism, Peter Gridling, and the long-standing head of security for former FPÖ chairman Heinz Christian Strache have also been summoned.