Terror threat

The Green Ministry of Justice comes under pressure

After the prevented attack, the ÖVP and experts are calling for new surveillance options and laws for intelligence services. Justice Minister Alma Zadić is the focus of criticism. Her Secretary General goes on the offensive. There is a major political hiccup in general.

As expected, the prevented attack in Vienna has increased the domestic political tempo. ÖVP Interior Minister Gerhard Karner immediately called for the possibility of monitoring messenger services. So that we are no longer so dependent on foreign services. The ÖVP has wanted this for a long time. Karner also identified the "obstructionists" and spoke of a "Kickl-Zadić anti-security alliance".

In any case, a legal change is needed, say experts and politicians such as ÖVP Styria's state leader Christopher Drexler, who is calling the Minister of Justice to account. Alma Zadić herself does not want to comment, leaving Secretary General Olga Voglauer to react.

"Comparisons are completely inappropriate"
 She says: "Alma Zadić's constant comparisons with the right-wing agitator Herbert Kickl are not only completely inappropriate, but also a danger to our democratic culture." But what about the demand for more surveillance options and a new law?

"On the specific issue, the Greens are clear: we need to combat crime as effectively as possible. It is the task of the Ministry of the Interior to find a solution for monitoring encrypted messenger communication that is legally and technically feasible and effectively combats crime."

He wanted to kill as many infidels as possible at the Taylor Swift concert: the main suspect Beran A. (small picture)(Bild: Krone KREATIV/APA/Eva Manhart, zVg)

"Prohibition law for political Islam"
 The FPÖ parliamentary club says: "People have not forgotten how the ÖVP insulted tens of thousands of citizens who criticized the corona regime and misused our security authorities to monitor their own population." Nehammer, Karner and Co. are therefore not to be trusted.

Because where the ÖVP says "security against Islamist dangers" on the label, it means a deep state, mass spying and a lack of freedom for Austrians, according to the Blue Party, which primarily criticizes the immigration policy of the Turkish-Green government and the SPÖ and is once again calling for a law banning political Islam. 

Next government must regulate it
The SPÖ points to the lack of a constitutionally compliant draft law, despite repeated requests from the Reds in the "Intelligence Committee". "If there is such a proposal, it can be examined. But we reject the idea that all private messages of Austrians should be monitored," emphasizes Einwallner. The ÖVP Interior Minister ruled this out in the "Krone" interview anyway.

"It's clear that we need solutions here," says Nikolaus Scherak, constitutional spokesperson for the NEOS. The ÖVP and Greens have still not managed to present a constitutionally compliant proposal that can be evaluated in terms of content. "It is up to the next federal government to come up with a reform that takes equal account of security, freedom and the rule of law."