Dornauer fights exclusion from SPÖ

Dornauer has decided to contest the expulsion and wants a federal arbitration court to be involved, he confirmed to the APA on Thursday, following an online report by the "Tiroler Tageszeitung". "I am firmly convinced that the federal arbitration court will guarantee a fair process," Dornauer stated.

Dornauer after expulsion: State party board not competent and biased

The now "independent state parliament member" Dornauer suggested to the state party board to request the federal party board to "take over the arbitration proceedings due to the special significance and situation of the case and conduct it at the level of the federal organization." The party arbitration court should overturn the expulsion, as the state party board - which carried out the expulsion - was not competent and biased. After all, it includes SPÖ state party leader Philip Wohlgemuth, SPÖ club chairwoman Elisabeth Fleischanderl, as well as the red state parliament members and government members, all of whom were "biased due to the previous discussions and disputes in the state parliament club." Furthermore, he was "elected to the federal party board (BPV) with an overwhelming majority of the federal party congress and would have to resign from the BPV with the expulsion." However, it cannot be that a state instance decides on the continuation of this federal mandate, he noted.

SPÖ Tirol sets up arbitration court for Dornauer expulsion

The Tyrolean SPÖ state party stated on Thursday afternoon that they had expected a challenge. This is also "the good right of every member," said state managing director Eva Steibl-Egenbauer: "The prescribed process now provides for the establishment of an arbitration court, and we are of course initiating this step." The state party board is responsible for this according to the statutes. However, Steibl-Egenbauer rejected a shift to the federal level. Such a move is "not appropriate, as it is a conflict between the SPÖ Tirol and the Tyrolean representative Dornauer."

Federal party could take over Dornauer's expulsion on its own

What Dornauer referred to with his "federal initiative" is Paragraph 83, Section 2 of the SPÖ statute. However, it is stipulated there that the federal party can only take over an exclusion made by a state party if the "special situation and significance of the case" justify or require it. According to APA information, this requires a majority decision in the federal party executive. Theoretically, Dornauer could still contest his exclusion confirmed by the arbitration court appointed by the state party before the federal party executive. If this also confirms the expulsion, the federal party congress could still address the matter.

Dornauer Cannot Comprehend the Decision Substantively

In any case, Dornauer also expressed his disagreement with the decision substantively. It does not state "what misconduct I am accused of." The motion he submitted in the state parliament, proposing that excess profits of the state-owned energy supplier Tiwag be distributed to the state and partly used for childcare, did not endanger the government program nor damage the reputation of the SPÖ. Moreover, it often happens "that a member of parliament does not vote with the club for reasons of conscience." This is generally "accepted" without major consequences. He himself has now decided "in the conflict" what is right "in the interest of the party and our principles." He submitted the motion alone and referred to the free mandate, which "in weighing with reasons of conscience is to be placed above coalition discipline."

Dornauer received support on Thursday from Tyrol's FPÖ leader Markus Abwerzger, who sharply attacked the SPÖ state party leadership. "Purely from a legal perspective," he considered it "strange if Georg Dornauer is not given a fair trial," said Abwerzger, a lawyer by profession, to the APA. "The state party is severely biased. The arbitration court is appointed by the one, namely the state party executive, who excluded him. That's insane," said the freedom party state chairman in clear terms.

Exclusion of Dornauer After Months of Disputes

Dornauer, who had to vacate his seat as deputy governor and SPÖ leader in November 2024 following a hunting trip with Signa bankrupt René Benko, has since been engaged in ongoing public conflicts with the party leadership. The peak of the disputes was finally reached last week when the 42-year-old submitted the Tiwag motion without the support of his SPÖ state parliament colleagues and the coalition partner ÖVP. His party then spoke of a coalition breach and excluded their former chairman from the state parliament club and the party.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.