Dornauer on site

Hunting affair: Motion of no confidence rejected!

There was not only a discussion, but also a vote.

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

As is well known, the opposition has tabled a motion of no confidence against Tyrol's SPÖ leader and Deputy Governor Georg Dornauer (SPÖ) in the Tyrolean state parliament. The motion was dealt with on Thursday afternoon. Dornauer himself entered the state parliament chamber just in time for the start of the debate - and even took the floor.

"This picture shocked me personally, Dornauer overshot the mark. The motion of censure is self-evident. I want to leave it at that, I don't want to add fuel to the fire," said FP provincial party chairman Markus Abwerzger. However, he addressed the SPÖ: "There is certainly a lack of understanding towards the party with regard to the entire process." He also sharply criticized the absence of Governor Anton Mattle (ÖVP): "It happens again and again that he shirks sensitive matters." The governor had himself excused due to an Eusalp meeting.

"That shows how unteachable he is"
For Liste Fritz club chairman Markus Sint, it is a "question of credibility" and a "question of trust". "This is a forced admission of guilt. He said himself that he was not aware of any guilt. This shows that he is unteachable and I am personally sorry about that," emphasized Sint. At the same time, he called for clarification - for example: "Who paid for this excursion? And who took the shot?" According to Sint, "not a single person" believes the hat-swapping campaign. The SPÖ is "a party at odds with itself" - "I hope you get back on track". In principle, according to Sint, criminal law is now "the only yardstick" in politics - this cannot be the case, as it will gradually lead to a loss of public trust. 

Don't do this to yourself any more.

LA Birgit Obermüller (Neos)

"For me, it's about judgment and explanation"
"For me, today is not about Georg Dornauer - and not at all because I'm not interested in that," said Tyrolean Green Party leader Gebi Mair. He was concerned with the question of whether the SPÖ trusted Dornauer or not. He was interested in the "assessment and explanation of the SPÖ, but also of the ÖVP". But when it comes to the requests to speak here in parliament, "unfortunately I don't see any SPÖ functionaries at the moment" - even though the SPÖ "urgently needs to justify itself to the public". 

"Procrastination and hesitation is not okay"
LA Birgit Obermüller (Neos) also took the floor: "We have decided in favor of the motion of no confidence, among other things because the dithering and hesitation of the SPÖ is not okay and because Dornauer must not remain in office until 18 December. We would have expected LH Mattle to hit the table." In the end, she appealed directly to Dornauer: "Don't keep doing this to yourself and to the provincial parliament."

Motion of no confidence

The state government as a collective and its individual members are accountable to the state parliament. Parliament can pass a resolution of no confidence in the entire government, but also in individual members - with a simple majority. Such a motion can be tabled at any time, but must be signed by at least one third of the members of parliament.

Then there was a request to speak from the SPÖ - from party leader Elisabeth Fleischanderl: "We have agreed in the party and in the coalition on an orderly handover. This will take place in mid-December. We are proceeding in this way because this is clearly not a government crisis," she emphasized, "and we will not support the motion."

"He was already standing in front of his shambles"
Then the main player in this case, Deputy Governor Georg Dornauer, took the floor - and the room went quiet. "When did I get to know René Benko? By then, he was already standing in front of his shambles and had already driven many people to ruin - in other words, on the way down. And yes, it was a mistake for me to stay with him. I let myself be tempted by the guiding principle of stopping with those people who are on the way down," Dornauer admitted.

He also emphasized that he had accompanied a friend to Styria - "actually, I should have had two days off". And the Tyrolean SPÖ leader reiterated: "I have not broken the law." 

Finally, he thanked the ÖVP and SPÖ for their support - and announced that he would continue to make appointments: "For example, next Tuesday I will go and see the progress of the bobsleigh canal." And: "Thank you very much, see you, all the best." The applause from the MPs was moderate.

Vote shortly after 4.30 pm
A decision then had to be made as to whether a roll-call or anonymous vote would be held - in the end, it was a roll-call vote. And shortly after 4.30 p.m. the time had come. The result: the motion was rejected with 15 "yes" and 21 "no" votes.

This means that Georg Dornauer was not censured and will remain in office until December 18. But it was certainly worth a try by the opposition. Immediately after the announcement, Dornauer left the room.