According to his own statements, Vorarlberg’s governor Markus Wallner (ÖVP) has received a new cell phone and a new tablet, but none of the cell phone data has been deleted, he emphasizes. Wallner found this following a report by “ZiB2” on Monday. In this it was said that the mobile phone had possibly been “deleted”. Replacing the electronic devices was “planned for a long time,” it was emphasized.
The old mobile phone was not reset and is still with the state governor, Wallner spokesman Simon Kampl told APA. The new tablet had already been delivered on April 13th, on April 19th the state IT department carried out the synchronization (calendar data, e-mail, contacts, etc.) and handed over the device to Wallner. The old tablet was properly reset.
Corruption prosecutor investigated
The exchange of the electronic devices is attracting attention because the WKStA has been investigating since the end of April whether there was initial suspicion of Wallner and the state economics councilors Karlheinz Rüdisser (until 2019) and Marco Tittler (since 2019) in the Vorarlberg financial affair. According to the public prosecutor’s office in Feldkirch, there is a suspicion that Wallner, Rüdisser and Tittler violated paragraph 305 of the criminal code. Specifically: Waller might have tried to demand advantages as an official for the dutiful performance of official business, Rüdisser and Tittler might have accepted such advantages.
An entrepreneur who was not named had claimed in an affidavit that Wallner had solicited advertisements for the Wirtschaftsbund-Zeitung and also promised something in return – which the governor sharply rejected as a “blatant lie”.
motion of no confidence in Parliament
Wallner also has to face a motion of no confidence in the state parliament on Wednesday. The opposition – FPÖ, SPÖ and NEOS – introduced this two weeks ago. According to a report in the “Vorarlberger Nachrichten” (Tuesday), the voting behavior of the Greens – who have formed a coalition with the ÖVP since 2014 – is not yet clear. However, regardless of this, there should not be a majority for the motion of no confidence. The non-party MP Thomas Hopfner (formerly SPÖ) has already declared that he will not support the motion of no confidence. The opposition would thus get no more than 18 (out of 36) votes. However, if the Greens actually withdraw their trust from Wallner, that would probably mean the end of the black-green government work.
In any case, Vorarlberg’s SPÖ boss Gabriele Sprickler-Falschlunger was certain on Tuesday: “Governor Wallner has to go.” It would be bold to describe the device replacement as routine. “How stupid does Wallner think the people of Vorarlberg are?” she asked. The incident is one of a number of scandals that Wallner and the Vorarlberg People’s Party are currently churning out. Wallner has “completely lost” his credibility.
