Investigation After Attack on Mayor of Vösendorf
The municipal council meeting scheduled for today, Wednesday, will be particularly monitored by plainclothes and uniformed forces, according to police spokesman Raimund Schwaigerlehner. The mayor of Vösendorf, Hannes Koza, was attacked and threatened with death on Tuesday evening.
Mayor of Vösendorf Attacked on His Way Home
The mayor was attacked on his way home in the castle park. The ÖVP politician was punched in the face, and it was threatened that he would not survive the municipal council meeting on Wednesday. Koza filed a complaint and went to the hospital for an X-ray examination. The mayor had made headlines several times at the beginning of the year. In May, he won the early municipal election in Vösendorf by a large margin. The starting point of the ballot were investigations against Koza, investigations for breach of trust, incitement and abuse of office were discontinued in March.
Regarding the accusation of document forgery, there was a diversion. The local chief is said to have had costs incurred from a legal dispute after a tweet refunded by the municipality and "corrected" a lawyer's bill himself. The amount of 1,129.32 euros is said to have been listed as consulting costs for the purchase of a new fire truck. Koza has refunded the amount.
ÖVP NÖ Sees "Low Point of Political Culture" After Attack on Mayor
Matthias Zauner, state manager of the People's Party NÖ, spoke on Wednesday of a "low point of political culture". The fact that a mayor is physically attacked "has no place in a democracy". After the attack, Zauner also called for careful choice of words. In the evening, ÖVP leader Chancellor Karl Nehammer also expressed his "horror", as he explained on social media: "The active exercise of violence is completely unacceptable, I hope that the perpetrators are found and held accountable."
While there have recently been increased attacks on politicians and campaign helpers in Germany, such incidents are rare in Austria. However, the murder of a mayor in Mühlviertel at the end of October caused shock. The background to the double murder was hunting disputes.
(APA/Red)
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