Forbidden Party Donations: ÖVP, NEOS, and Greens Receive Hefty Fines
The Greens were hit the hardest, having to pay over 100,000 euros. All three parties have announced an appeal. Together with the SPÖ, they are seeking a clarifying legal amendment.
The basis for the fines is a report from the Court of Audit from the previous year, which dealt with various social media accounts in government offices. The Court of Audit viewed the creation of party-political content by department employees as an impermissible party donation. The UPTS has now agreed with this view and imposed the fines.
Nehammer Pages Bring 50,000 Euro Fine
The ÖVP is affected by the social media activities of former Chancellor Karl Nehammer. In its decision available to the APA, the Senate states that there was a takeover of personnel costs for the social accounts operated by the ÖVP as the media owner by the federal government. This impermissible donation is penalized with 50,637 euros. An additional 6,000 euros are added - in this case to the Upper Austrian ÖAAB - because a donation was reported late.
The same offense affects the Greens of Lower Austria, who have to pay a penalty of 7,000 euros. The UPTS decisions are more bitter for the party regarding the social media activities of former Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler and former Justice Minister Alma Zadic. Kogler is fined 57,803 euros, and Zadic 40,215 euros. Here too, an impermissible donation due to party-political postings is assumed.
City of Vienna Also Made Impermissible "Donations"
The NEOS are also affected, specifically through the former Vienna Deputy Mayor Christoph Wiederkehr. He is assumed to have received an impermissible donation from the City of Vienna in the form of covering personnel and material costs for the co-management of social media accounts. The penalty amounts to 70,956 euros.
The Court of Audit also identified a violation concerning the Burgenland Governor Hans Peter Doskozil (SPÖ) regarding his Facebook account. However, the UPTS discontinued the proceedings in this case.
Planned Legal Clarification
The SPÖ is still involved when it comes to revising the regulations. It is an area that is not legally regulated in Austria and has not yet been conclusively adjudicated, according to a joint statement from the four parties.
There is a gray area between "this unclear legal situation and contemporary political communication practices," which, through the legal interpretations of the Court of Audit and UPTS, could potentially have far-reaching negative consequences at all levels, from state to municipal. To achieve legal certainty for all parties involved, the federal government began some time ago to develop a clear, practical, and unambiguous legal basis. The Greens are also available to work on such a basis. A corresponding legislative initiative should be adopted as soon as possible.
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.