FPÖ expenses affair: Strache's luxury life at the taxpayer's expense!

FPÖ expenses affair: Strache's luxury life at the taxpayer's expense!

The expenses affair surrounding the FPÖ and its former boss Heinz-Christian Strache is becoming increasingly turbulent. A recently published final report by the Federal Criminal Police Office brings new details to light. Accordingly, the FPÖ apparently used tax money to finance a luxurious life for Strache. In particular, it turns out that over a million euros of public money was used for private spending. According to FALTER, Strache had been sworn in as district councilor of his “List HC” earlier on Tuesday, while the FPÖ considers the matter to be closed since Strache is no longer party leader.

But the reality looks different. Despite the party's absolution, key players in the expenses affair, such as Federal Managing Director Johann Weixelbaum and Dominik Nepp, still hold high positions within the FPÖ. Weixelbaum defended Strache's accounts, while Nepp, who was working as a financial officer at the time, did not comment on the current developments. The final report also describes significant deficiencies in spending control and points to a climate in which verification of Strache's spending was virtually non-existent.

Investigations and allegations

According to KURIER, a completed investigation has been strongly substantiated after the first anonymous tips in the summer of 2019. The report contains a devastating conclusion: a total of 1,091,189.08 euros in damage is assumed. Strache himself rejects the allegations and asserts that he paid everything out of his own pocket. At the same time, however, the picture is painted of a deliberate concealment in order to present the spending as party-friendly.

The judiciary is investigating Strache, Dominik Nepp and five other people for infidelity. In the run-up to the elections for the local council and district representatives in three days, the FPÖ is under great pressure. The investigation runs to 900 pages, 370 witnesses and numerous lecturers have been interviewed, and the possibility of an indictment remains uncertain.

Corruption as a structural problem

The expenses affair is not an isolated case, but suggests a larger structural problem within politics. According to bpb, corruption has many faces and is often closely linked to inadequate control and unobjective personnel policies. Such scandals undermine public administration's trust, which has a negative impact on democracy. It is becoming increasingly clear that anti-corruption policy is in urgent need of reform, even if the need often only comes to light through scandals.

The population's trust in politics is at stake. Necessary reforms to combat corruption not only require political majorities, but also a huge push in the form of scandals to illustrate the need for action. We can only hope that the public and the judiciary will tackle this challenge together in order to put an end to the structures that encourage corruption.