Mayor confesses

Luger passed on hearing questions to Kerschbaum

The Mayor of Linz, Klaus Luger (SPÖ) and Dietmar Kerschbaum.

(Bild: LIVA/Oliver Erenyi)

The next act in the LIVA scandal. Newly surfaced messages between Linz Mayor Klaus Luger (SPÖ) and the now dismissed Brucknerhaus director Dietmar Kerschbaum are said to prove that Luger passed on the hearing questions to Kerschbaum. The head of the city of Linz apologizes for this in a press release.

"I made a mistake and I regret it very much today." With these words, Linz Mayor Klaus Luger addressed the public in a press statement yesterday at around 5 pm. Newly surfaced WhatsApp chats from 2016 and 2017 are now said to prove that Dietmar Kerschbaum received the questionnaire even before his official application for the position of artistic director of the LIVA - from Luger himself. The head of the city of Linz pre-empted reports about the chat affair and confirmed that the documents had given Kerschbaum an advantage.

"Very good choice for Linz"
At the time, he had experienced that Kerschbaum had done excellent work as a cultural manager in Burgenland. "Because I was of the opinion at the time that he was a very good choice for Linz from an artistic point of view - and I still believe that today - I forwarded him general questions about the hearing in advance. Looking back, I regret my behavior," said Luger in his letter.

Selected by a 12-member jury
Kerschbaum himself had been elected by the majority of the 12-member jury (seven members voted for him, four against; one abstained - editor's note) and had done a lot of good with his reputation, emphasized Luger in an interview with the "Krone". "However, I deeply regret that in this case I set a bad example to the people of Linz as mayor. I would like to apologize for this and ask for forgiveness," he added in his statement. He is prepared to deal with calls for his resignation - he will take note of them and they are also "understandable from a party political point of view".

In March, allegations against Kerschbaum became public, which led to his dismissal at the beginning of July - the "Krone" reported in detail. Kerschbaum is considering taking legal action against the decision. The accusations are harsh: among other things, he is said to have concluded questionable business deals with himself and to have outsourced the program design to an agent who himself looked after potential artists for the concert hall. But the role of his consulting firm and the hearing on his appointment also raised questions. 

Having been on a first-name basis
This malversation apparently came to light through cell phone chats between Luger and Kerschbaum in the run-up to the appointment of the new artistic directors. According to a newspaper report, the lawyer Bernhard Steinbüchler, who is representing the dismissed employee in the employment law proceedings against LIVA and the City of Linz, confirmed "the accuracy of this chat history" on behalf of his client from April 2016. The mayor had repeatedly claimed not to have known Kerschbaum before his application. However, the chats would prove a certain confidentiality, so the men were on a first-name basis.

Luger has "committed a breach of the law"
ÖVP deputy mayor Martin Hajart expressed his disappointment in an initial reaction: "Luger has openly admitted to breaking the law". For months, he had "lied to the people of Linz" and trust had been "massively shaken". For Hajart, it is now also a matter of examining the criminal relevance. As far as political consequences were concerned, the mayor himself had already said in his statement what he expected. So he probably knows what to do.