“I do not remember.” – “I can’t place it from my memory.” – “That’s how I would interpret it in my memory.” – “I still have a memory dilemma to this day.”
Löger was invited as a witness to testify in the trial once morest former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (VP) and his head of cabinet Bernhard Bonelli. The two have to answer in court for making false statements to the investigative committee. The question is what influence Kurz had in appointing the ÖBAG supervisory board. Löger might actually have made an important contribution to enlightenment.
Right at the beginning, Löger, who is now CEO of the Vienna International Group, reported that he actually wanted to become a jet pilot. He ended up in the insurance industry, where he met Sebastian Kurz, who was still young at the time. When Kurz was looking for a finance minister in December 2017 following several rejections, he asked Löger. “I was the candidate of the last minute, the last second,” said Löger.
More on the subject:
Thomas Schmid was assigned to the career changer as head of cabinet and general secretary in the Ministry of Finance. The relationship between them was ultimately “very tense”. It quickly became clear to Löger that Schmid wanted to move to the state holding company ÖBAG. He mightn’t remember Schmid telling him that he had Kurz’s support. But he knew that Schmid was definitely close to Kurz.
When the supervisory board was appointed, there was a flood of suggestions. Kurz preferred the industrialist Siegfried Wolf and was always interested. “But in my opinion, I didn’t feel the pressure of having to make direct implementations from his area,” said Löger. The suggestion to install Helmut Kern as chairman of the ÖBAG supervisory board ultimately came from Bonelli.
Fundamental “memory dilemma”
Kurz had always stated that Löger, as finance minister, was formally responsible for the ÖBAG appointment. Löger only later found out that there was already a side letter regarding the distribution of positions between the ÖVP and FPÖ. He has a fundamental “memory dilemma” on this topic. Schmid had testified the previous week that he had shown Löger the agreement and locked it in a safe.
The senior public prosecutors followed up several times. They asked Löger regarding his membership in the VP-Wirtschaftsbund, Löger described himself as an extraordinary member. The prosecutors also spoke regarding the side letter: When appointing the supervisory board, Löger coordinated with FP boss Heinz-Christian Strache. Who was his contact at the ÖVP? Here too, Löger evaded. Incidentally, Kurz and Bonelli also sat separately on Monday following they had been separated the previous week because of conversations that were too loud.
What’s next?
Finally, the court granted several WKStA applications to summon witnesses: ÖBAG supervisory board members Günther Helm and Helmut Kern are expected to testify, as is Kurz’s former head of cabinet, Bernd Brünner. The WKStA’s request to invite ex-FP boss Heinz-Christian Strache and entrepreneur Siegfried Wolf was not granted. The trial continues on January 10th, following which three more dates are scheduled. On January 25th, former minister Gernot Blümel testified.
Author
Annette Gantner
Internal politics editor
Annette Gantner
