On the second day of the Ibiza U Committee, Ministers Nehammer (Home Affairs) and Zadić (Justice) were asked to explain when they learned of the video find.
On Friday morning, a certain degree of dissatisfaction was mixed up in the 7th of the Hofburg to the tiredness of the deputies. The start of the investigation committee the day before had been unplanned. When the session ended shortly before midnight, parliamentarians had to ask: what had they learned here in the past few hours?
The first day of the Ibiza-U committee had started with a lot of attention, after all the “main actors” of the video were guests: Heinz-Christian Strache and Johann Gudenus. Above all with Strache, the deputies had hoped that the urge for validity and lust for revenge would persuade him to make a statement. Strache did indeed reveal a detail here and there, but in the end some of the MPs were not satisfied with the results. Perhaps more could have been teased out.
It should be different on day two. It was a very different kind of questioning that was taking place. Interior Minister Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) and Minister of Justice Alma Zadić (Greens) were on hand to provide information. The two members of the government were supposed to solve a long-standing dispute between the executive and the judiciary. It could be the reason why the Ibiza video is available to the authorities – but not to the committee (yet).
In fact, the path from the discovery of the video to public communication could be traced a little more precisely. The short version: Zadić and the Economic and Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (WKStA) only found out about the success of the investigation from the media.
Explanation: When the Ibiza video was published last year, the investigation strands were divided. The Vienna Public Prosecutor’s Office is investigating who is behind the trap. The WKStA, however, illuminates the content of the video. The “Soko Tape” determined on behalf of both.
Almost a year after the release, on April 20, investigators found the “Soko Tape” data carrier with video recordings in a witness’s apartment. The following day, the “Soko” informed the Vienna public prosecutor’s office of the find. Around a month later, Nehammer does not remember the exact date, he also learned of this from his head of cabinet. After the Council of Ministers, Nehammer Zadić asked whether they should hold a press conference on the success of the investigation. He did not mention the discovery of the Ibiza video – Nehammer said this only after repeated requests.
“Excitedly burst into the office”
When the news was released on May 27, “everyone rushed into my office,” says Zadić. You didn’t know about the find. The WKStA also found out about it 15 minutes before the public. “That caused irritation.” At least, confusion also caused when Zadić learned afterwards that part of her office knew about it. There was a meeting on Monday, which included section head Christian Pilnacek (who was disempowered shortly afterwards). He knew about it (from the Vienna Public Prosecutor’s Office) and told it in passing, but he only heard “half the table”. “As we understand it, Soko was tasked with reporting to both prosecutors,” says Zadić. Nehammer disagrees that he trusts the assessment of his employees.
Little has changed for the members of the U-Committee: They have to wait until the “Soko” has evaluated the recordings. A report is then sent to the public prosecutor’s office. These decide which sequences are presented.
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