Burgenland’s head of state wants to take legal action against party bigwigs on ORF. After new elections, he demands a traffic light coalition without the ÖVP from the SPÖ.
“The Burgenland state government will submit an application for a review of the law to the Constitutional Court (VfGH) in the coming week,” said Hans Peter Doskozil on Sunday “Today”. The background is the side letters that became public in the course of the chat affair, which former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz closed with his coalition partners FPÖ and the Greens.
“Independence in the ORF not guaranteed”
In it, pacts and party-politically motivated posts in the ORF enraged the head of state: “In recent years we have seen how important independent public broadcasting is for our society and democracy,” said Doskozil. He thinks: “The ORF must be able to carry out its core task objectively, impartially and independently. If the most important organ of the ORF, the foundation board, is occupied by the majority of the government according to the applicable law, the independence of the ORF is not guaranteed. The independent media should the government controls – not the government controls the media.”
Doskozil briefly blocked Wunsch
Explosive: Hans Peter Doskozil did not get his preferred candidate as state director of ORF Burgenland, Walter Schneeberger, at the end of 2021. The brother-in-law of ex-SPÖ minister Josef Ostermayr continues to work as editor-in-chief in the Eisenstadt state studio, but Werner Herics was again entrusted with the management of the Burgenland-ORF under pressure from Sebastian Kurz.
“The constitutionally required independence and distance from government is not given.”
Doskozil: “Of course, there have always been attempts to exert political influence in the past – nobody is so naïve as to deny that. But the chats that have recently become public show that it has recently become common practice to cross borders, which is seriously questionable in terms of democratic politics and constitutional law, but are covered by the ORF law.”
“Independence not lip service”
According to the SP grandee, the independence of the ORF should not be lip service. Currently, the required “distance from the government” is not given: “That’s why it’s worth trying to have the Constitutional Court, as the supreme guardian of the constitution, review the current legal situation,” said Governor Doskozil.
He demands a constitutional review of the ORF law and a repeal of the relevant legal provisions by the Constitutional Court. In anticipation of this constitutional complaint for the new period, Burgenland sent a representative to the foundation board in the form of the artist Christian Kolonovits, who can act completely independently and has also not joined any circle of friends, affirms Doskozil.
New pinpricks in the direction of Vienna
Not the only word from the Reigning Prince at the weekend: In a “press” interview, Doskozil confirmed that already at Christmas in “Today” expressed demand for a traffic light coalition. The question of the top candidate in the SPÖ is “not yet decided” for him, he cannot resist another pinprick in the direction of SPÖ boss Rendi-Wagner.
