ÖVP continues to rage:

“The rule of law no longer applies to the Greens”

The ÖVP is bringing heavy artillery to bear against Minister Leonore Gewessler and Vice-Chancellor Werner Kogler.

(Bild: APA/TOBIAS STEINMAURER)

The coalition dispute surrounding the EU renaturation law continues unabated. Christian Stocker, Secretary General of the ÖVP (Austrian People's Party), took up the heavy artillery: "When it comes to their green ideology, the rule of law no longer applies to the Greens."

Previously, both Vice-Chancellor Werner Kogler and Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler had criticized the Constitutional Service in the Federal Chancellery and questioned the independence of the authority. As reported, the Chancellor's party is citing expert opinions from the same Constitutional Service in its accusation of abuse of office against Gewessler. When the Green Minister voted in favor of the EU renaturation law in Brussels on Monday, Gewessler disregarded the law in the opinion of the ÖVP.

ÖVP General Secretary Christian Stocker: "Vice-Chancellor Kogler and Environment Minister Gewessler clearly lack any awareness of the law."

(Bild: APA/HANS KLAUS TECHT)

"If we openly question central institutions, we are undermining nothing less than the rule of law," Constitution Minister Karoline Edtstadler (ÖVP) expressed her concern to the Kleine Zeitung newspaper on Sunday. "This is a development that is truly frightening", Edtstadler criticized her ministerial colleague. What the Greens are trying to do is "to thwart an institution of the Republic with private legal opinions".

"This is not worthy of a Vice-Chancellor"
The courts will ultimately have to clarify whether this is a criminal offense. The ÖVP minister would have liked Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen to have "a clear word" on the matter. In any case, future cooperation between the ÖVP and the Greens seems more than unlikely: "In my view, this disqualifies the Greens from any further government cooperation."

ÖVP Secretary General Stocker raged in a press release: "The alleged suspicions of partisanship on the part of the Constitutional Service are not worthy of a Vice Chancellor and a Federal Minister. "The fact is: Vice-Chancellor Kogler and Environment Minister Gewessler obviously lack any awareness of the law - when it comes to their green ideology, the rule of law no longer applies to the Greens."