Two investigative committees into alleged political abuse of power in Austria are targeting, among others, investor René Benko and his Signa Group, which has been affected by bankruptcies. In the pre-election campaign for the autumn parliamentary election, two rival U-committees were formed on Thursday, each requested by the opposition and the conservative ruling party ÖVP. The committees will meet from March to May.
At the request of the social democratic SPÖ and the right-wing FPÖ, a committee was set up for “two-tier administration due to the favoritism of billionaires by ÖVP government members”. Among other things, the opposition parties want to take a closer look at Corona state aid for companies in the Signa real estate and trading group. It will also be investigated whether Signa was favored by financial authorities and benefited from it. In addition to Benko, the entrepreneurs Stefan Pierer (KTM) and Siegfried Wolf (Steyr Automotive, formerly MAN Steyr) were also named in the application for the U-Committee.
The Chancellor’s Party ÖVP, on the other hand, is targeting the SPÖ and the FPÖ as former government parties. With reference to the respective party colors, the ‘Red-Blue Abuse of Power Investigative Committee’ was created. According to ÖVP MP Andreas Hanger, the committee will, among other things, deal with the connections between the Social Democratic ex-Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer and Benko. Gusenbauer is currently being criticized because he not only works for Signa on the supervisory board, but also as a well-paid consultant. Signa did not comment on the U-committees.(dpa)