Statistics Austria sends mailings to the Federal Chancellery in advance

The “Der Standard” reports in its weekend edition. In the Federal Chancellery and in statistics, this is seen in accordance with the EU Code of Conduct for National Statistical Offices. However, there are concerns about “framing” and “message control”.

This practice has been practiced since March 24, according to the “Standard”. The press releases are presented to the Secretary General of the Federal Chancellery, Bernd Brünner, and the heads of the Economic and Statistics Council, Helmut Kern and Martin Kocher. This had not only happened in individual cases, but in all press releases since March.

However, the code for the statistical offices states: Statistical offices must “treat all users equally” and give them “simultaneous and equal access to statistical data”. “Any preferential early access to external parties is limited, well-founded, controlled and will be made public.”

Statistics Austria justifies itself in a statement, according to the newspaper, by saying that the Federal Chancellery is a “supervisory body and owner representative”. The advance notices would be documented internally, with reference to compliance with the blocking period, and there would be a corresponding notice on the website.

Criticism comes from Harald Oberhofer, professor at the Vienna University of Economics and Business and member of the “Platform Register Research”, which works for better access for science to statistical data. “Independence and impartiality are the greatest assets of official statistics. Even the appearance of influencing or favoring individual actors would massively damage the high level of trust that Statistics Austria enjoys,” he criticized.

It is not the first time that a discussion has flared up about the outsourced and formally independent federal institution. In February 2019, it was announced that the Chancellery was planning to reform the statistics. For example, the external communication of the institution was to be linked closer to the Chancellery, a number of reform projects were stopped, the press department was downsized. There followed an outcry from the opposition, which warned of message control among the top data security officers.

At the end of November 2019, General Director Konrad Pesendorfer, who was sidelined by the ÖVP / FPÖ federal government, announced his farewell and demanded more independence and better funding. An interim management followed. It was recently announced that the economist Tobias Thomas is taking over the general management. Before that, he was head of the economically liberal economic research institute Eco Austria.

SPÖ and NEOS alarmed

SPÖ budget spokesman Jan Krainer spoke of a highly questionable encroachment on independence, NEOS mandate Helmut Brandstätter saw a possible violation of applicable EU regulations. The criticism was rejected in the Chancellery.
Krainer sent out a “new outgrowth of the message control of the black-green government”, which proceeds exactly as before the ÖVP / FPÖ coalition. “You can see that you had to get rid of the former head of Statistics Austria, Konrad Pesendorfer, because he certainly would not have played along,” he said. Highly political data and information could thus be interpreted in advance by the public in terms of party politics. “This forwarding not only endangers the impartiality of Statsitik Austria, it also contradicts the EU code of conduct,” said Krainer, who announced a parliamentary question.

Brandstätter similarly: “It is obvious that Chancellor Kurz cannot fail and his message control does not stop at Statistics Austria. The impartiality and independence of Statistics Austria is its greatest asset, and we will certainly not allow it to be used for its own sake We don’t want a censorship authority from Statistics Austria. “

In the Chancellery, no one wanted to know about the criticism, it was all right and in order, was assured. The Chancellor’s media people would never get their hands on the information in advance, nor would they have used it in advance. The ready-made press releases would only be sent to the Secretary General of the Chancellery for internal information (and with a blocking period), so that messages from your own organizational unit would not only be heard through the media.

Harald Oberhofer, professor at the Vienna University of Economics and Business and member of the “Platform Register Research”, who had already criticized the “Standard”, did not accept these arguments against the APA. The Federal Chancellery is not the owner of Statistics Austria. He recalled the relevant EU regulation and the code of conduct for statistical offices, according to which all users should be treated equally. Even the appearance of interference is to be avoided and the justification of the chancellery can be believed or not.

Oberhofer dismissed the fact that he only expressed his criticism because he himself would have liked to have succeeded Pesendorfers as director general of statistics, as he was accused of being “classic diversion”. He also did not initiate the “standard” report. Rather, he is concerned with transparency, the WU professor referred to his role in the “Platform Register Research”.