On Monday, Thomas Schmid, the eagerly awaited prominent witness in the trial against ex-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (VP) for making false statements, appeared in the Vienna Criminal Regional Court. As was the case when he was questioned by the Economic and Corruption Public Prosecutor’s Office (WKStA) a year ago, the former Secretary General of Finance and sole director of the state holding company ÖBAG remained true to his line before Judge Michael Radasztics and placed heavy burdens on Kurz.
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Domestic politics Schmid, Kurz and the state holding company ÖBAG
Kurz had explained to the Ibiza investigative committee that he was informed about the appointment of the ÖBAG sole board of directors in 2019 and the supervisory board, but was not involved in it.
It was already clear in 2017, “very, very early on, that I was his candidate,” said Schmid, whose cell phone chats triggered a series of investigations that are now known as the “Casag affair” or “leg scraping tool.” .
Video: Dannhauser (ORF) on the Schmid survey
„Denkunmöglich“
At the same time, it was “impossible” to carry out important staff appointments like those at ÖBAG without coordination with Sebastian Kurz. “The Federal Chancellery had the right to veto,” said Schmid. He also repeatedly informed Kurz about the status of the reform, as did his co-accused head of cabinet Bernhard Bonelli and former finance minister Hartwig Löger (VP).
Right from the start, the judge wanted to know from Schmid whether it was a friendship that connected him to Kurz: “Look, in politics, friendships are always strongly influenced by where you want to go professionally,” said Schmid, who said of a “ “very intensive collaboration”. In the meantime, he has made a fresh start. “This means that I no longer have anything to do with these people.”
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Of course, the most famous chat was also discussed, when the Chancellor wrote “You get everything you want anyway”. What Kurz wanted to have understood in the trial as a reprimand in the sense of “finally be satisfied”. He saw this as serious praise and reacted accordingly (“I love my chancellor”). The context does not allow any other conclusion.
As a result, the defense tried to undermine Schmid’s credibility. Which didn’t go completely smoothly.
Questions about a job interview that Schmid is said to have conducted in Amsterdam this year, as well as the submission of a CV, were not permitted by the judge. This also applied to an affidavit in which a man from Tbilisi is said to have confirmed that Schmid had been put under pressure by the WKStA and had therefore sought refuge in Amsterdam.
And Kurz’s lawyer Otto Dietrich accused Schmid of attempting to delete data, which he did not deny at all. But: “I obviously didn’t delete everything, otherwise we wouldn’t be talking about chats now. But I apparently thought I had deleted everything.” The trial is set to continue on Friday with ex-Finance Minister Blümel on the witness stand.
Author
Lucian Mayringer
Internal politics editor
Lucian Mayringer
