Dornauer's hat

Red hunting trip causes mockery and derision online

ORF presenter Armin Wolf (right) and cabaret artist Xaver Schumacher take their "hats off" to SPÖ politician Georg Dornauer.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/TikTok ORF)

The hunting photo with René Benko and Tyrolean SPÖ leader Georg Dornauer published in the Kronen Zeitung on Monday is causing heated debate across the country. While Dornauer's political future is uncertain, he is being mocked and ridiculed on social media for his appearance.

The Dornauer case was also reported on "ZiB 2" on Monday - including a side blow from ORF presenter Armin Wolf. "Today on 11.11 at 11.11 the carnival has begun. I'm going hunting today - without shooting, of course. The hat isn't mine either," said Wolf, who donned a hunter's hat.

Guessing about Dornauer's hat 
Wolf was alluding to Dornauer's strange explanation. As is well known, he claimed not to have shot himself during the hunting trip, although Dornauer is wearing a hat with a "prey break" in the picture. In hunting circles, this is generally used to identify the shooter. But: The hat (which he was wearing) was allegedly not his hat at all. He had put on a different hat, at least Dornauer claims.

Praise and criticism of Wolf's hat interlude
While some users found the ORF presenter's interlude funny, there were also some critical voices. "Wolf complains about trolls on Twitter, but he trolls on ORF himself!" wrote one outraged user.

Another user wrote: "In the past, there have been dozens of events with the ÖVP or FPÖ where Wolf could have made such jokes. He obviously didn't dare. With the SPÖ it doesn't matter anyway. That's how the 4th power in the state works."

Cabaret artist as Dornauer: video becomes a hit online
A short video by cabaret artist Xaver Schumacher has also become a hit online. In it, he parodies Dornauer and explains what actually happened during the hunting trip (warning, satire!).

"The stag was probably an old sociopath"
"I was in the forest in Styria - looking for affordable housing for our voters. At that moment, I was approached by a man I had never seen before in my life - René Benko. He was also looking for affordable housing. As I was about to sing the Internationale to René, a deer jumped out of the thicket, saw us, ran towards us and immediately dropped dead. Perhaps out of shock that it had seen us both. The stag was probably an old stag, a red deer."

Dornau "victim" of hackers
The impact of the stag had caused a fir branch to come loose above a treetop, which fell directly into his hat. "Of course, I immediately ran to the deer to initiate resuscitation measures, I performed the so-called antler pressure massage." When he finally got down on his knees in front of the animal, the sensor of a wildlife photo system suddenly went off and took photos of him and Benko. This system had most likely been hacked by Antifa beforehand - which is why the image was then forwarded to the media.

"I am pleased that I have now been able to clear up any ambiguities and remain a huntsman's friend."