Ex-Chief of Staff of Rosenkranz Continues as FPÖ City Councilor in Langenlois
Criticism had already been voiced in advance by the initiative #zusammenHaltNÖ. Schimanek, who is under investigation for violations of the Prohibition and Weapons Act, had requested the termination of his employment as Rosenkranz's office manager at the end of February.
#zusammenHaltNÖ recently demanded in a press release and in a letter to the municipal councilors that Schimanek's city council mandate should be suspended. It was emphasized that the FPÖ politician must be prevented from serving as a city councilor "to avert harm from the municipality, from Lower Austria, and from all of Austria."
12 Votes for Schimanek
According to ORF Lower Austria, Schimanek was re-elected with 12 out of 31 votes during the inaugural municipal council meeting. According to the Lower Austrian municipal code, city councilors are appointed on the proposal of their respective party. Any ballot that names another person is invalid. "He basically just has to vote for himself, and he is a city councilor," outlined Langenlois Mayor Harald Leopold (ÖVP) in advance in the "Standard." In a conversation with the "Presse," the city leader emphasized that the headlines were "anything but pleasant" and also feared damage to the image of his municipality. Leopold, whose ÖVP holds the absolute majority with 18 out of 33 mandates, was re-elected as mayor on Monday with 27 out of 31 votes according to ORF. Two deputies were not present.
Discovery in Langenlois
The public prosecutor's office initiated its investigations because large quantities of ammunition and Nazi memorabilia were found during a house search in a forest house in Langenlois, where Schimanek was then primarily registered. According to investigation files, the property was supposed to serve as a retreat for the "Saxon Separatists." In November, the German Federal Prosecutor's Office arrested eight suspected right-wing terrorists in Germany and Poland and simultaneously searched 20 properties, including the forest house in Lower Austria.
The militant group is said to consist of fifteen to twenty people with racist and anti-Semitic ideology and, in parts, apocalyptic views. Among those arrested were also members of the family of a well-known Austrian right-wing extremist. Rene Schimanek has insisted that he has nothing to do with the case.
(APA/Red)
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