Vösendorf's Mayor Koza Resigns
Hannes Koza (ÖVP), mayor of Vösendorf (district of Mödling), announced his resignation on Thursday evening via Facebook. Previously, the "Kurier" reported that police suspicions had intensified that Koza had fabricated an assault against himself last year. He admitted he wanted to "put himself in a victim role." He intends to seek professional help and is resigning from his mayoral position.
Koza Claimed Assault
The mayor had published photos of facial injuries in December, claiming to have been physically attacked by an unknown person in the castle park. There were doubts about this account from the beginning. In the criminal proceedings, the mayor is now no longer considered a victim but a suspect, confirmed Erich Habitzl, spokesperson for the Wiener Neustadt public prosecutor's office, to the "Kurier." On Thursday, Koza was informed by the police that he had to appear for questioning.
The alleged attack was said to have occurred late at night in December 2024 on the way home from the municipal office in the Vösendorf castle park, the mayor claimed. An unknown attacker allegedly hit him in the face and threatened that he would not survive the municipal council meeting the following day.
Koza filed a report and went to the hospital for an X-ray examination. The municipal council meeting was subsequently monitored by the police but proceeded without incident. The Vösendorf police station and the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism (LSE) launched investigations.
These investigations have now led to a turning point. Due to new investigative approaches, a "suspect interrogation" of the mayor has been ordered, confirmed Habitzl according to the "Kurier." The interrogation is to be conducted by the police and LSE in the coming days. "We then expect a final report," explains Habitzl. After that, a decision will be made on a possible criminal charge for the suspicion of feigning a punishable act.
Resignation of Vösendorf Mayor
Shortly after the first report on the allegations appeared on Thursday, Koza announced his resignation on Facebook. "The last year has been one of the worst of our lives for my family and me. I made mistakes and was torn apart by the media for it," he wrote. After the early municipal council election in May 2024, he hoped that "peace would return." However: "The personal attacks and constant complaints against me and my wife increased rather than decreased."
This situation "weighed on me mentally more than I wanted to admit and could," he admitted: "I wanted to put myself in a victim role, hoping that the personal attacks would finally stop." However, he now has to admit that he "crossed boundaries" and hurt people. "That's not who I am and that's not who I ever wanted to be." Therefore, he has "come to the conclusion that I will seek professional help and therefore resign from my mayoral office."
Lawyer Confirms Self-Injury
Koza's lawyer, Sascha Flatz, confirmed the admission to the media in the evening. "He actually inflicted the injury on himself," he said, for example, to ORF's ZiB2.
The public prosecutor had already investigated the local politician in 2024 because he had manipulated a private lawyer's bill to have the costs reimbursed by the municipality. Koza repaid the amount, the proceedings were settled through diversion, and investigations into further allegations were dropped.
Early new elections in Vösendorf then brought significant gains for Koza's ÖVP list in May 2024, securing an absolute majority in the municipal council.
"A Strong Piece"
"Paying private bills from the city treasury and inventing an attack to then portray oneself as a poor victim on social media. But it all fits the Koza system and the ÖVP," reacted FPÖ state party secretary Alexander Murlasits in a statement on Thursday evening to the revelations: "That a politician invents a beating attack is a strong piece. With the resignation, Koza takes the only right consequence and seeks professional help. That must be accepted."
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.