Greater control

New attempt to reform the U-committee

The representatives of the opposition parties said that the legislative department of the state government should draw up a proposal for the contentious issue of the arbitration board.

(Bild: Ben Haemmerle Photography)

The three opposition parties in the Vorarlberg state parliament, the Greens, SPÖ and Neos, submitted a joint motion on Monday to finally implement the reform package drawn up in the previous legislative period.

In the previous period, the state parliament parties had agreed to expand control rights as a result of the ÖVP-Wirtschaftsbund advertisement affair. After months of negotiations, agreement was reached on twelve of the 13 points of a reform of the sub-committee, including extended appointment options by several parliamentary groups, mandatory delivery of files, rights and obligations of persons providing information. The only controversial point was the question of the arbitration body for file deliveries. The ÖVP wanted to involve the Provincial Ombudsman or the Provincial Court of Audit in the event of a dispute, while the FPÖ, SPÖ and Neos preferred the Provincial Administrative Court. Unanimity, which the ÖVP insisted on, could not be achieved, whereupon the People's Party terminated the talks - a pretext for the opposition to bury the process as a whole.

Resolutions on the agenda in March
So now comes a new push: sub-committees must be better equipped, transparency and control must be effective. The Greens, SPÖ and Neos want to adopt the uncontroversial points in the state parliament session on March 5. Eva Hammerer (Greens), Chairwoman of the Control Committee, explained that, as a member of the provincial parliament, one does not want to be dependent on the goodwill of those being controlled. Provincial governor Christof Bitschi (FPÖ), then in opposition, had vehemently demanded stronger control rights, so he was now being held accountable. In a joint effort, a ready-made "masterpiece" had been created "that does not exist in any other federal state".

Like Hammerer, Reinhold Einwallner (SPÖ) also criticized the new state government's handling of inquiries: "The quality of answers has deteriorated considerably in recent weeks." The U-Committee, as the most stringent control instrument of the state parliament, must be designed in such a way that it is fit for purpose. He knows from experience in Vienna and from the only, less productive Vorarlberg U-Committee in 2016/17 how important a good set of rules is for this. Einwallner saw a "moose test" for the FPÖ. 

Neos party leader Claudia Gamon called for a "cultural change" in terms of transparency and control. The opposition's inquiries into the Wirtschaftsbund affair had brought some things to light, but extreme pressure had been needed from the ÖVP. This shows that control works. "But it should actually be easier," she emphasized. Under the current regulations, only a "pseudo-reappraisal" would be possible.