50 years for Salzburg

Sporting masterpiece and billion-dollar poker

Dietrich Mateschitz and coaching legend Giovanni Trapattoni with the paper "Krone" championship plate. A sporting masterstroke by the Bulls and a sensational advertising idea.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/GEPA/Felix Roittner)

The "Salzburg Krone" celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Long-time editor-in-chief Hans Peter Hasenöhrl looks back on some moving stories. Part 4 of the series, 2004-2014: Gabi's "harbor speech" with consequences. New speculation affair goes beyond all dimensions. "Krone" advertising line causes a stir.

APPLAUSE 
Read the law book or ask your lawyer about the effects and undesirable effects of interventions. Gabi Burgstaller ignores the package insert and the WEB affair continues in 2006. At a savings bank reception in the Festspielhaus, the provincial governor craves approval. In her speech, she castigates the conviction of bank managers who are said to have tolerated the sale of WEB shares in their bank. The condemned sit in the hall, jump to their feet and applaud frenetically. "No, let's have a look," murmurs an amused judge in the back of the courtroom.

CRIME SCENE 
Days later, the former deputy general of the savings bank takes the trolleybus into town. Suddenly scenes like in "Tatort": two police patrols cross the road with screeching tires. The young blonde woman next to the general manager grabs his arm firmly. Then the female detective leads him off the bus in front of the eyes of stunned passengers, he is taken to the regional court and immediately transferred to Stein prison. A "humiliating act", he later complains.

SHOWDOWN 
But it gets even bigger than that. The bubbling mega speculation affair in Salzburg finally bursts. A few minutes before the Christmas "Krone" headline reception on Mozartplatz: the state vice president and finance officer calls on his cell phone and has to cancel his appearance. He had to fire an accountant who had speculated with taxpayers' money. And then, when asked in a shaky voice: "It's not a small case, unfortunately it involves many millions.

DARKENED 
This central figure will become known throughout the country as the "shadow woman". There are many photos of her, every banker knows her, but "Krone" top lawyer Ernst Swoboda has reservations. Pixelate her face? Not enough. Cover her upper body? You could identify her there too, she has an excellent lawyer. So the idea was born: we darken her completely in the photo store. The "shadow woman" becomes a nationally known figure.

MANÖVER 
Her superior, the ÖVP court councillor in the finance department, came to the job by chance (in Salzburg this is always spelled with C and V, the abbreviation of the Cartel Association): previously, the lawyer with no pedagogical knowledge was head of the school department. He does not interfere in his accountant's business, as he knows nothing about it. As an enthusiastic militarist, he prefers to take time off work for 22 army maneuvers. The unbelievable comes to light in the "Krone" report: when share prices fall, the panicked "shadow woman" throws many millions worth of derivatives and shares onto the market. This alone resulted in losses of 205 million euros. In total, this speculation scandal caused a total loss to the taxpayer of 530 million euros. The shackles are clicking for the "shadow woman" and the maneuvering court councillor.

DREAMS 
While the SP provincial vice-chairman is running off to the German private sector as quickly as possible, "the red Gabi" is holding her own: Sobbing, she begs the people of Salzburg for forgiveness. Her tears hardly arouse any sympathy and so she sinks into the election. The legendary double-page "Krone" photo with the defeated head of state stirs up emotions. Wilfried Haslauer II takes office.

BETRAYED 
But the gurgling maelstrom of financial transactions drags the SPÖ even further into the depths. Over time, everything comes to light. Mayor Heinz Schaden discovers "highly toxic" derivatives (high-risk financial transactions) in the accounts. Instead of pressing charges and stopping the speculation, he turns the papers over to his comrade Othmar Raus in the country. Well aware of the gambling going on there. The judiciary takes the head of IT in the magistrate's office into custody, confiscates all the laptops, searches for and finds all the emails between the politicians and charges Schaden and Raus. The strict judge hands out sentences of several years: The mayor loses his office, he dutifully reports to prison in Urstein and is then allowed to cycle through his city with an ankle bracelet. Thomas Bernhard once wrote: Salzburg is inhabited by profiteers and their victims.

ADVERTISEMENT 
It is hard-hitting reports of this kind that help the "Salzburg Krone" to be successful. But the advertising line also causes a stir: For weeks, the slogan "Good morning with the Krone" is stuck on all Salzburg milk cartons. At the Red Bull celebrations in the stadium, we hand out thousands of champion plates made of cardboard with "Krone" printed on them. Visitors to concerts in the Festspielhaus are delighted to receive 10,000 "Krone" Mozart paperbacks. The "Krone" logo is emblazoned on beer mats and napkins in mountain huts as well as on the anoraks of our ski stars. There are also campaigns where we - true to Dichand's motto in the "forecourt of power" - can help people in need with a little pressure. Head physician Christian Menzel receives a roof over the busy Gaswerkgasse near the hospital, oral surgeon Christian Krenkel receives an extension to his clinic, head physician Wolfgang Sperl is delighted with the modern children's department.

MUT 
And time and again, we stand up for the endangered environment: "Don't give up, keep fighting!" the "Krone" lead story encourages the people of Grossarltal. A storage area for international waste is to be set up there. Hundreds of people and their children lie down in front of the excavators that have already been driven into the quarry. At the last minute, a clash with the gendarmerie is prevented, as was the case in the Hainburg floodplain. The hated landfill site remains a dark chapter in history for all eternity.