Disease year for the People's Party [premium]

The managers and entrepreneurs were delighted. They would always find an open ear from the Foreign Minister. If hurdles abroad need to be removed, he will be happy to help. Often a letter to the relevant foreign office is enough to solve a problem.

So it was in 2016 in the “press”. At that time, the Foreign Ministry was actually the Ministry of Economics, at least for entrepreneurs with interests abroad. The Foreign Minister also regularly held rounds with business people in which they could explain their worries and needs. Economics minister was Reinhold Mitterlehner at the time, foreign minister Sebastian Kurz.

It is quite possible that this talked through to Gumpoldskirchen. The gaming group Novomatic has its headquarters there. And in 2017 it had problems with the tax authorities in Italy. So why not turn to the Foreign Minister, who had a reputation for looking after Austria's interests abroad – and also otherwise gave the impression of livening up the dusty, grand coalition's soft-washed ÖVP?

In Gumpoldskirchen one would have thought that way. In retrospect, however, the question arises: Why did you need Gernot Blümel to get hold of Kurz? Johann Graf and Harald Neumann, owners and managing directors of one of the largest companies in the country, would probably have got an appointment with Kurz at any time if they had only called the secretariat. Possibly one wanted to prepare the field a little by means of Blümel. The only question is: for what?

“Novomatic pays everyone,” said a certain Heinz-Christian Strache. The former FPÖ boss talked a lot when the day was long, but many took that away from him. Novomatic has apparently never paid anything to parties. But there are still the various associations in the vicinity of the parties, which shot up all the faster the more tightly the party funding was regulated.

Was that also the case in the current case? It cannot be ruled out – Gernot Blümel also did not want to do that on Thursday evening in his urgent press conference. But it has not been proven either. Yes, there isn't even any evidence of it. Except the gut feeling that tells you that it would be unusual for parties who constantly need money to take nothing when they are offered something. And in 2017 Ibiza was still a long way off (so it had just taken place, but nobody could have guessed what would become of it).

Either way, it's a scandal. If the ÖVP financed its party through clubs without disclosing it, it would be one. And it would also be one if the Economic and Corruption Prosecutor's Office played state within state and constructed allegations in order to get rid of an unpopular government. Because if you read their order to search Finance Minister Gernot Blümel, you won't get rid of the suspicion that the whole thing is actually aimed at Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. And imagine the worldwide media echo when the head of government then has a raid on the house.

Also a consequence of Ibiza

The Causa Blümel is also a consequence of Ibiza: Without this, there would be no cell phone from Heinz-Christian Strache, without this one from Thomas Schmid. It would be a special, bitter punchline for those involved: Because Schmid wanted to go further up the career ladder, Blümel and Kurz may fall down with them. If – as I said – there is something to the allegations. Or this can be proven.

All of this in times of a never-ending pandemic in which the forces in the government should actually be pooled. While the ÖVP had the reins in hand in this so far, the Greens can now watch the ÖVP stumble. They are still holding back nobly (and maybe even enjoying the calamities of their bigger partner one day), but their voters will soon see them as being caught up. Will this government survive the disease year 2021? Rationally, it should – in the absence of an alternative. But it is not certain.

[R733S]