The Greens and the FPÖ want the Control Commission for the Directorate of State Security and Intelligence (DSN) to take action after the thwarted attack plans on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna. The factions made this clear before the National Security Council. SPÖ leader Andreas Babler, on the other hand, wants to scour the criminal laws and believes legislative changes are possible. Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) once again promoted the possibility of monitoring messenger services.
Greens with explosive proposal before Security Council meeting
The Greens were the only group that did not appear before the media before the meeting on Tuesday evening. However, the motions that they will submit to the Security Council were submitted. The most sensitive of these is the request to Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) to evaluate the efficiency of the cooperation between the Austrian intelligence services through the Control Commission for the Protection of the Constitution: “After the latest events, it would be particularly relevant to determine whether the DSN is transmitting information to the military intelligence services as quickly as possible and in sufficient detail to safeguard public and national security, and whether the information it receives also meets this requirement.”
FPÖ finds “contradictory information”
The FPÖ had already called for the control commission to be convened in the afternoon. There were “too many unanswered questions and contradictory information,” stressed security spokesman Hannes Amesbauer in a press release: “Because there are still many inconsistencies, especially around the chronology of the first clues up to the chaos surrounding the arrest of the suspects, which ultimately led to the cancellation of the concerts,” Amesbauer said on Tuesday.
Before the Security Council began, the Freedom Party member also advocated establishing a law banning political Islam. Babler did not directly rule this out. He said that tightening the law was “quite possible”. However, he only directly pushed for a “security service provider law” with appropriate screening of security guards. In addition, the SP leader, like the NEOS, called for a personnel offensive and structural reform with a modern anti-terror center.
Nehammer keeps a low profile
NEOS General Secretary Douglas Hoyos was annoyed at how late the parliament was informed about the background to the attack, but demanded that the coalition be involved in the development of the new security strategy, which he said the coalition had agreed on. However, Chancellor Nehammer refused to confirm this a few minutes later. He only spoke of great progress.
Hoyos expressed skepticism about one of the government leader’s key demands, namely the monitoring of messenger services: “Whenever something happens, people immediately call for more powers.” However, he will not make a final assessment until he has received the draft bill from the Interior Ministry. The Freedom Party is clearly opposed to this. Amesbauer sees a threat of mass surveillance.
Nehammer, on the other hand, argues that the police authorities must be brought to the same level as organized crime. At the same time, the Chancellor spoke out in favor of expanded pre-trial detention options and for closing loopholes in the association and party laws for “enemies of democracy.” Nehammer does not want to release further radicalized individuals from prison.
The meeting of the National Security Council lasts approximately 1.5 hours. Since it is a confidential body, participants are not permitted to disclose the contents of the meeting afterwards.
(Source: APA)
