Former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) was not legally sentenced last Friday to eight months of conditional imprisonment for a false statement in the Ibiza-U Committee, while his former cabinet chief Bernhard Bonelli, who was also accused, was sentenced to six months. Kurz was acquitted on two of three charges.
In several interviews that the 37-year-old has given since his conviction, he has protested his innocence and repeatedly emphasized that the verdict was unfair. He also announced that he would definitely appeal and was convinced that the outcome of the proceedings would be positive for him. Kurz presented himself in an interview with Armin Wolf on ORF-ZiB2 on Monday evening that was not fundamentally different, albeit more aggressive.
As an opening question, Wolf wanted to know from Kurz: “Mr. Kurz, do you think the judge convicted you for party political reasons?” The former chancellor replies: “There was a very clear political component. Personally, I find the decision unfair.”
Video: Sebastian Kurz in the ZiB2 interview:
Kurz emphasized several times in the interview that there had never been a trial for making false statements that required a hundred-page indictment or a twelve-day trial. The judge justified his judgment, among other things, by saying that Kurz should have answered the question in the U-Committee as to whether he was involved in more detail than just “yes”.
When Wolf then read him the question from the minutes of the U-Committee, the former Chancellor interrupted him several times and said that the journalist was misrepresenting the question: “Bet that’s wrong?” Kurz made it clear to Wolf. The ex-Chancellor admitted that he might have answered certain parts of the U-Committee better and might have prepared better. He still sees the resulting sanctions as too harsh for the seriousness of the accusation.
Political comeback ruled out
Kurz didn’t give a damn regarding Thomas Schmid, who was deemed credible by the court and is considered a possible key witness in the advertising corruption affair. “Thomas Schmid talked to his mom and decided to change his life. He then writes on his resume that he freed hostages from Yemen. That makes you ask yourself: Are you trying to betray us?”
As a counterargument, Wolf confronted Kurz with the fact that he had claimed in an interview that he had completed a course of study without a degree. The ex-Chancellor moderated this accusation with “Congratulations on this research”.
Current entrepreneur Kurz categorically ruled out a possible political comeback. Despite polls linking him to a new list of his own, he feels comfortable in his current, new life and does not want to run as a politician in the next or future elections.
