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Corruption in Austria: Why has ORF’s editor-in-chief resigned?

Austria’s graft scandal continues to dismantle political and media careers as ORF’s editor-in-chief Matthias Schrom steps down from the role. Here's why.

Published: 9 November 2022 16:27 CET
Corruption in Austria: Why has ORF's editor-in-chief resigned?
A demonstrator wearing a mask with the face of Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and dressed as a prisoner in handcuffs is seen during a protest in front of the headquarters of the Austrian People's Party OeVP in Vienna on October 7, 2021, a day after Kurz was implicated in a media corruption scandal. (Photo by ALEX HALADA / AFP)

Matthias Schrom is no longer editor-in-chief of TV news at Austrian national broadcaster ORF after he resigned from the role on Wednesday (November 9th).

The move comes after Schrom was ordered to go on leave on Monday pending an investigation into claims he exchanged friendly notes with disgraced former far-right leader and vice-chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache, Der Standard reported.

READ ALSO: What are Austria’s Social Democratic Party’s plans to ease citizenship rules?

Roland Weißmann, Director General at ORF, said: “I accept Matthias Schrom’s offer to resign his position as editor-in-chief and thus bear the personal consequences of the published chats. 

“Even though Matthias Schrom’s management of his office to date has been impeccable and ORF TV has been very successful with millions of people in Austria over the past four years, it is precisely the great trust in our reporting and the uncompromising credibility of our journalists that make a step like this seem inevitable.”

What happened and when?

In February 2019, Strache contacted Schrom by email to complain about reporting on ZIB 24 and make recommendations about personnel at the media organisation, according to Der Standard.

The complaint was reportedly about negative statements made against the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), of which Strache was a member at the time. Schrom then responded and described ORF1 as “more left-wing” than ORF2 before advising Strache on tips for intervening at the station.

READ MORE: EXPLAINED: What happened at the Linz Halloween riots?

Schrom maintains that Strache’s requests were not met, either by adjustments to media content or in personnel appointments at ORF.

The latest revelations are related to the so-called “Ibizagate” corruption scandal that broke in 2019. It has since rocked Austrian politics, with leaked material revealing close links between top politicians, business people and the media.

The most high profile people involved in the scandal were Strache and former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. Strache resigned as Vice Chancellor and was expelled from the FPÖ in 2019, and Kurz stepped down from politics in 2021.

For more on the Ibiza scandal, read this report by The Local.

Who else is involved in this latest scandal?

On Monday, Rainer Nowak, publisher and editor-in-chief of top newspaper Die Presse, also relinquished his day to day duties at the title. 

However, Nowak is implicated in chats with Thomas Schmid, former Secretary General for the Ministry of Finance. 

READ NEXT: EXPLAINED: Why is Austria so rich?

The Tiroler Tageszeitung reports that Nowak had aspirations to become the boss of ORF and appealed to Schmid in 2019 for support to make it happen. Nowak has since apologised for the communications and an investigation is

underway at the publication.

Schmid was a key ally of former Chancellor Kurz and is now a witness in the ongoing corruption hearings taking place against dozens of politicians and officials linked to Kurz’s time in office.

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POLITICS

EXPLAINED: Why Austria does not recognise the state of Palestine

Norway, Spain, and Ireland have announced they will recognise Palestine as a state - so where does Austria stand and why?

Published: 23 May 2024 11:34 CEST
EXPLAINED: Why Austria does not recognise the state of Palestine

The war in the Middle East has brought back some significant debate in Austria and Europe in general. When is criticism of Israel a demonstration of antisemitism? Is a two-state solution, with the recognition of Palestine as a country, the answer to end the region’s bloodshed? And where does Austria stand on the matter?

As it is, “Palestine is not recognised by Austria as a state in the sense of international law”, according to the country’s Foreign Ministry. 

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly spoken out against a separate Palestinian state, which the USA and the Europeans support in principle.

So far, there is only a Palestinian Authority (PA) with very limited state rights, which is based in the West Bank.

READ ALSO: Why conservatives in Lower Austria want to tighten citizenship rules

Which EU countries already recognise the Palestinian state?

Norway, Ireland, and Spain announced they would recognise Palestine as a state by the end of May. The three countries have already attracted a furious response from Israel, which called back its ambassadors in response.

Still, other EU countries might follow suit in hopes that the recognition would help peace negotiations in the region. Slovenia and Malta have also hinted at the imminent recognition of Palestine as a state. 

Sweden took this step ten years ago. The other nine EU states that already recognise Palestine as a state, including Hungary, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, did so when they were not yet EU members.

Around 140 out of 193 UN members recognise Palestine as a state.

Palestine, therefore, has the status of an observing non-member state in the UN. This means it can participate in meetings of the General Assembly but does not have the right to vote. Palestine has been a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC) based in The Hague for almost ten years since 2015.

Palestine cannot be recognised as a full member of the UN until a majority of the UN Security Council votes in favour.

However, the Palestinian territories are not recognised as a state by the USA, France and the United Kingdom – all three of whom are permanent members of the Security Council. They only want to agree to recognition once the conflict with Israel has been peacefully resolved.

READ ALSO: Concern grows in Austria over rise in anti-Semitic acts

What about Austria?

Austria insists on a “political process,” Kurier reported. Austria has long been a supporter of a negotiated two-state solution based on international law.

“We are deeply convinced that this is the only option that allows Israelis and Palestinians to live peacefully side by side,” Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg told the newspaper.

“Of course, this also requires the creation of an independent, democratic and viable Palestinian state.”

The Foreign Minister proposes further negotiations for the two-state solution. “Symbolic recognition at this point will not help the Palestinians. Rather, a sustainable solution is needed so that both sides can live in peace and security,” the minister said.

Strong ties to Israel

Austria has also, of course, been a strong ally of Israel for decades. It has repeatedly shown its support for the country and the Jewish population, a historical tie going back to the legacy of the Holocaust. 

Recently, Austria was among the few countries that voted no to a ceasefire as a United Nations resolution. 

Explaining Austria’s rare decision to take a firm stance, Chancellor Karl Nehammer of the conservative People’s Party (ÖVP) said: “A resolution in which the terrorist organisation Hamas is not named, in which the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7th are not condemned and in which Israel’s right to self-defence, which is enshrined in international law, is not stated – Austria cannot agree to such a resolution.”

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