Everything completely normal?

The next act: The Green drama never ends

The Greens are - officially - behind their lead candidate.

(Bild: MAX SLOVENCIK)

The Green Club gave its backing to the lead candidate for the EU elections, Lena Schilling, on Tuesday. The reports of the past few days were discussed "intensively" at a routine club meeting. But the next trouble is already looming: the demand of a married couple.

All quite normal. The Green parliamentary club tried to classify the meeting with all MPs under the routine category. "The reporting on Lena Schilling was also discussed in detail and we had an intensive exchange of views. The Green Club continues to stand united behind the Greens' top candidate," said the official press statement for the meeting.

Internal doubts and an angry couple
None of the MPs dared to officially cross the party line. In the background, however, there are already MPs who consider Lena Schilling's candidacy to be a mistake.

Because there is no end to the fuss surrounding the Green EU leadership candidate. The couple Sebastian and Veronika Bohrn Mena, who see themselves as victims of Schilling, now want to at least obtain an apology from the young Green with a civil lawsuit.

As reported, she is said to have expressed suspicions of domestic violence out of "concern for her friend". Schilling signed a cease-and-desist agreement to put an end to the problem. However, Mena's Bohrs sent the settlement to the media, triggering a media avalanche.

What is private, what is politics?
The debate about the morals of a young politician has become so widespread that even Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen has commented on the accusations. "Who as a young person does not make mistakes, should she have made any at all," he said in an Ö1 interview on Tuesday. In any case, he "certainly made some". Van der Bellen could do without involving his private life in election campaigns: "Politics is one thing, and private life is another."

"It doesn't leave us cold," said Secretary General Olga Voglauer after the end of the club meeting, which was held on Tuesday as usual before plenary days, "when attempts are made to chase a young woman through the arena". She described the accusations as "hearsay, allegations and rumors", saying that there was nothing valid to prevent her from continuing to support Schilling.

Greens want to continue working
"What is happening here is not humanly understandable (...), I wouldn't wish it on anyone," she said in defense of Schilling. They are currently in the middle of an election campaign, an election campaign "of the most despicable kind", but this will continue with a broad team behind Schilling, emphasized Voglauer.