Even two informants

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The case surrounding the dismissal of the artistic director of the Linz event company LIVA and Brucknerhaus artistic director Dietmar Kerschbaum is clearing up

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Dieter Kühl, Werner Kerschbaummayr)

The fired Brucknerhaus and LIVA boss Dietmar Kerschbaum applied for the job with a concept for which he did not have the sole copyright. This was revealed by research carried out by the new Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Meinhard Lukas. And: former mayor Klaus Luger (SPÖ) had ignored a whistleblower report - previously unknown to the media.

This year in March, massive compliance allegations against the then head of LIVA (Linzer Veranstaltungsgesellschaft) Dietmar Kerschbaum were made public via "Falter", as well as the fact that his appointment had probably been delayed, as we reported. 

The head of the city of Linz, Klaus Luger, was outraged by the compliance allegations, distanced himself from Kerschbaum and in July the artistic director was dismissed.

According to the head of the city at the time, he was aware from a whistleblower report that Kerschbaum had received the hearing questions "anonymously" in advance and had commissioned a legal opinion on the matter. The conclusion at the time was that the source of the leak could no longer be determined. Chats leaked to a media outlet then proved that Luger himself had forwarded the questions. The mayor resigned. The Linz public prosecutor's office is investigating him on suspicion of embezzlement.

What's new: there were two informants
So far, so well known. On Friday, Lukas presented a first interim report on the investigation into the case and it contains some explosive news - such as the fact that not just one, but two whistleblower reports were received in November: one regarding the hearing and one regarding compliance violations. However, Luger allowed the latter to peter out, even though the whistleblower backed up the allegations with documents and is also legally entitled to a response. The compliance allegations concern, among other things, in-security transactions, secondary employment, procurement procedures, expense and travel claims.

The Brucknerhaus, one of the most beautiful concert halls in Austria

(Bild: Markus Wenzel)

The appointment process was also scrutinized
The LIVA head position was advertised on November 26, 2016. However, Luger and Kerschbaum had already discussed this much earlier, as their chats published in a medium show: at the end of August 2016, Luger informed Kerschbaum "confidentially" that a new appointment would be made. At the beginning of October, Kerschbaum thanked the head of the city for a "package" that he would take a look at - the suspicion is that these were documents relating to the LIVA, as the concept submitted by Kerschbaum "was very knowledgeable about the figures for the building". All of this took place before the date of the tender.

Foreign concept not noticed
However, Lukas uncovered another remarkable aspect: the detailed concept that Kerschbaum presented in his application bore the note "Copyright Dietmar Kerschbaum et al." (et alia/"and others", note) on all pages and at the end even "unmistakably" the detailed note that the program was created by someone else - a dramaturge later employed by Kerschbaum - and could not be implemented without the approval of this person. "This applies in particular to the implementation of the concept(s) by the Brucknerhaus", it is explicitly stated. "Nobody on the hearing committee noticed this," says Lukas, surprised.

Increase despite approved ancillary business
There have been many mysteries surrounding Kerschbaum's employment contract. Apart from Luger, who was shareholder representative and chairman of the supervisory board in a personal union that did little to promote transparency, hardly anyone is said to have seen him. For data protection reasons, the Intendant's salary will not be published, although he received 22% more gross than his predecessor Hans Joachim Frey, including value adjustments. And: "All members of the Supervisory Board were aware of the salary amount," says Lukas.

When the contract was extended in 2022, a further twelve percent was added. In addition, Kerschbaum was not only granted permission to direct the "jOpera" festival in Jennersdorf as well as engagements as a singer, but also his own event management company - although the Supervisory Board was probably unaware of the latter.

Questionable legal opinion is expensive
There is a particular farce surrounding the legal opinion concerning the leaked hearing questions: although Luger himself was the leaker, he always claimed that Kerschbaum had received the questions from "an unknown source" and even commissioned a legal opinion - costing EUR 15,884.29 (net) - on the subject.

What happens next?
Lukas emphasizes that he would have brought to light how "politics dealt with the LIVA." However, this should be considered "separately from the heart" of the LIVA, by which he meant the employees, artists and sportspeople who do "a fantastic job" in the LIVA's cultural and sports venues.

With regard to the Brucknerhaus, a "learning process" must begin, the aim being a new set of rules for the selection process for an artistic director: "We want to appeal to international personalities."