Hanger comes to this conclusion because evidence was found in the files that Kickl, as the then Interior Minister, had given ex-constitutional officer Egisto Ott a central role in the reorganization of the secret service following the raid on the BVT. The FPÖ rejected this.
According to an organizational chart, the “suspected Russian spy” Ott, said Hanger at a press conference on Monday, should have headed the coordination office in one of the departments of the “BVT (Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Combating Terrorism, note) NEW”. This would have given him access to all security-relevant information and top secret documents, Hanger claims. Ott was suspended at the time.
According to Hanger, there is also a chat between the former liberal security spokesman Hans-Jörg Jenewein and Ott, in which he announced to the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution that he would “be involved” in the restructuring of the secret service in March and April 2019. “We will find a good solution for everyone who helped,” quoted Hanger. However, this no longer happened due to the collapse of the turquoise-blue coalition in the wake of the Ibiza affair and the subsequent new election. Jenewein acted as Kickl’s “right hand” at the time, says Hanger.
“rascal pranks”
The question that now arises for the black faction leader is whether Kickl knew regarding Ott’s alleged spying activities at the time and did it intentionally. Hanger finds “indications” of this and, for example, brought up the FPÖ’s friendship agreement with Vladimir Putin’s “United Russia” party. Kickl will be confronted with this in the U-committee on Thursday. In addition, there are a lot of other topics, from blue-collar position haggling and favoritism to buying advertisements, says Hanger: “We’ll put all of that on the table.” Compared to the state security case, these would seem like “rascal pranks”.
Kickl is invited to provide information to the U-committee on Thursday. Hanger announced that he would also question former security spokesman Jenewein in the parliamentary committee.
The FPÖ rejected Hanger’s statements on the sidelines of a press conference. He doesn’t know the organizational chart, said FPÖ General Secretary Christian Hafenecker. “I don’t know where Mr. Hanger got this organizational chart from. If we look at BVT, then there is also one main culprit here: Mr. (Peter) Gridling” (the former head of BVT, note). This was brought in by Tyrol’s governor Günther Platter (ÖVP) and was then “never taken seriously” by the “Berner Club” (an informal association of European intelligence services). “He never had any control over anything in the secret service.” “It is also a fact that Mr. Ott was suspended under (Interior Minister Wolfgang/ÖVP, note) Sobotka and then reinstated – that has nothing to do with us either.”
“Bizarre aluminum hats”
“Colleague Hanger appears every day with new, bizarre aluminum hats,” said Hafenecker – he admires him for “how creative” he is. The ÖVP has been trying to “pour on” the FPÖ in the last few days. But the problems all went back to former Interior Minister Ernst Strasser (ÖVP). He also pointed out that the advisory board of the “Think Austria” strategy department set up (and later disbanded) in the Chancellery under former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) included former Wirecard boss Markus Braun, who was arrested in Germany on suspicion of falsifying balance sheets sat – a “companion” of ex-Wirecard board member Jan Marsalek, who fled to Moscow.
Hafenecker also pointed out a photo of Marsalek with the former Interior Minister and now National Council President Sobotka (ÖVP), which is said to show the two at a meal in 2017 at the Austrian embassy in Moscow. “The security risk has three letters and that means ÖVP.”
Hafenecker said regarding Jenewein’s alleged chat: “There are often people who make themselves important.” Back then, Jenewein was not in a position to decide on functions; he did not want to interpret the chats because that would be “unserious”. Ott and Jenewein themselves would have to be questioned regarding the short messages, he said.
