Senior Citizens' Association Not Part of the ÖVP – Fine Lifted

According to a recent decision by the Federal Administrative Court (BVwG), the association "Austrian Seniors' Association" is not part of the People's Party. This overturned a previously imposed fine of 15,000 euros by the Independent Party Transparency Senate (UPTS) against the ÖVP. This fine targeted a grant from the Corona NPO Fund, which according to UPTS, is only available to non-profit organizations – not to parties and their sub-organizations.

Party organization no longer called "Seniors' Association"

After an objection by the Court of Auditors, the Independent Party Transparency Senate (UPTS) took action and decided against the Seniors' Association at the beginning of 2023. The association then returned the grants "under reservation." Prior to this, there had already been organizational changes: The ÖVP renamed its sub-organization to "ÖVP Seniors," and "Seniors' Association" now only refers to the association. Both retained the party colors turquoise and black - as well as the respective president in the person of the Vienna ÖVP state parliament member and former Secretary General of the Federal ÖVP, Ingrid Korosec.

She was highly pleased on Wednesday and spoke in a statement of unfounded accusations. She also reiterated her claim to the million-euro grant from the federal government to Ö1: "We have transferred this amount under reservation and will of course reclaim it now," she said verbatim.

The ÖVP had previously left the question of reclaiming unanswered. According to the logic of the judgment, this is solely the responsibility of the association itself, as it is an internal association matter, said ÖVP Secretary General Nico Marchetti in a statement. He saw clarity established by the BVwG ruling that the Seniors' Association is not a sub-organization of the People's Party. "The Seniors' Association is an independent association and was and is at no time subject to instructions from the People's Party. The decision of the Federal Administrative Court underlines this," Marchetti emphasized.

Formal separation decisive

The starting point for the dispute was the simultaneous existence of the Seniors' Association as an association and as a sub-organization of the ÖVP. As an independent association, the "Austrian Seniors' Association" applied for and received Corona grants together with five regional organizations and hundreds of local groups in Upper Austria.

In February 2023, the association returned the funds received "under reservation." Before that, the internal ÖVP organization was renamed - from the "Seniorenbund" to "ÖVP Senioren." The party colors and personnel overlap remained unchanged.

UPTS saw identical addresses, phone numbers, and management bodies

The UPTS had argued at the time that the Seniorenbund associations at the federal level and in almost all federal states had the same address and phone number as the ÖVP sub-organization Seniorenbund. Furthermore, "the leading bodies of the two organizations at the federal and state levels were identical" - thus, the ÖVP had a "determining influence" on the associations. However, for the BVwG, the formal difference in names was sufficient.

Because the association Österreichischer Seniorenbund - unlike the sub-organization ÖVP-Senioren - is not explicitly mentioned in the party statute, it "cannot be considered a branch of the party," quoted "Der Standard" from the decision made at the end of July. The UPTS's decision is therefore not sustainable: "The view (...), that a 'substantive assessment' must be made to determine whether an entity is part of a party or not, would, if further considered, lead to any organization, with certain similarities (...), even if the party does not agree with it, becoming a branch of a party on its own initiative or having to be legally classified as such."

Against the decision, the UPTS can still file an ordinary official appeal to the Administrative Court, the deadline for which is six weeks, as their deputy chairman Peter Bußjäger explained upon APA inquiry. He himself did not participate in the now-overturned decision, he stated. He did not want to judge the ruling. The UPTS had, in any case, focused on the apparent parallels between the Seniorenbund as a declared party organization and as an association and assumed an identity of these two organizations in terms of party law. The BVwG, on the other hand, focuses purely on the formal distinction between association and party organization.

The FPÖ criticized the decision. The ruling mercilessly exposes the systematic self-service of the ÖVP, said Secretary General Christian Hafenecker in a statement: "This is the ÖVP system in its purest form: Associations are founded that are only separated from the party on paper, but in reality serve as money-making machines for the black power apparatus. When caught, a sub-organization is simply renamed, and the million-dollar grab into taxpayers' pockets is legalized again. This is a resounding slap in the face for every honest citizen in this country."

It is telling that the assessments of the Court of Auditors and the (UPTS) are simply ignored as soon as a formal legal maneuver secures the continuation of the black patronage system, Hafenecker continued: "This is not about criticizing the courts, but about the moral depravity of a system that places formal legal tricks above decency and political responsibility. While Austrians groan under the burden of rising costs, the ÖVP network rakes in millions in subsidies that it was never entitled to. If the ÖVP had even the slightest spark of decency, it would return this money to the taxpayers!"

(APA/Red)

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