According to the report, the two prominent guests also had drinks on the table during the routine police check-up at 0.18 a.m., which is prohibited after 11 p.m. by Covid 19 law. This could have expensive consequences for the host. For violations of the Covid 19 measures laws, caterers – for example, keeping them open after 11:00 p.m. – are subject to a fine of up to 30,000 euros. Officially, the restaurant was already closed at this point.
The Vienna police confirmed the operation on Sunday. “Media reports confirming that one of the people found in the sidewalk garden of a pub in the city center of Vienna is the Federal President,” it said to the cause. A report regarding the facts had been written and forwarded to the responsible magistrate for legal assessment.
Federal President Van der Bellen himself showed repentance on Sunday. “I went out to eat for the first time since the lockdown with two friends and my wife. We chatted and unfortunately missed time,” he apologized. “I am truly sorry. It was a mistake,” said Van der Bellen.
On Twitter, Van der Bellen also apologized again on Sunday evening for his nightly visit to the pub garden of a pub long after the Corona curfew. In addition, the Federal President announced: “Should the host suffer any damage, I will stand for it straight now.”
The FPÖ has no understanding of the President’s nightly visit to the garden. “In this way, the head of state mocks the population, who is severely plagued by the government’s corona madness, who adheres to the black and green rules, no matter how nonsensical,” criticized FPÖ general secretary Michael Schnedlitz in a press release. Anyone who whistles on the ordinances with such a matter of course would assume that they themselves are above the law. “This is a very inappropriate attitude for the federal president of a democratic country,” said Schnedlitz.
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