After the chamber election:

Farmers’ association recants and pays legal costs

The Farmers' Union and the President of the Chamber of Agriculture, Johannes Schmuckenschlager, claimed that FPÖ Provincial Councillor Rosenkranz (right) was threatening the farmers with expropriation. This has now been refuted.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Attila Molnar, Fotograf & Fee, Sepp Pail)

However, the Lower Austrian Farmers' Association, which was sued by FPÖ state councillor Susanne Rosenkranz for making false claims, did not wait for a court ruling. A few days after the chamber election, the ÖVP-affiliated association withdrew its support and paid the legal costs. Rosenkranz: "I did not concede a single point!"

The allegation that FPÖ provincial councillor Susanne Rosenkranz had threatened farmers with expropriation was not accepted by the politician and, as reported, she took the ÖVP-affiliated farmers' association to court. The first day of the trial took place before the Chamber of Agriculture elections on March 4, after which the farmers' association declared that it would "not be silenced".

Farmers' association refutes allegations: "Untrue"
A settlement has now been reached: the Farmers' Union recants the allegations and pays the legal costs. "The Lower Austrian Farmers' Association and Johannes Schmuckenschlager revoke as untrue the allegation made by them that Provincial Councillor Susanne Rosenkranz had plans to expropriate farmers and/or threatened to expropriate farmers in connection with the implementation of the renaturation ordinance," reads a statement from the Farmers' Association.

"Not giving in on any point"
The fact that the comparison was made just a few days after the Chamber of Agriculture election "is of course no coincidence", says Rosenkranz. "The Farmers' Union and Johannes Schmuckenschlager were simply spreading fake news," she continued. In the Chamber of Farmers' election campaign, unfair means were used to create an atmosphere and campaign against her and the FPÖ. "The fact that the Farmers' Union was in the wrong shows that it is not a comparison in the classic sense, because I did not give in on a single point," concludes the FPÖ politician.