"Small Inquiry Committee" Before Substantive Meetings

The FPÖ promoted the "Small Investigative Committee" on the funding of non-governmental organizations, which it initiated, on Wednesday. In this committee, subsidies over two legislative periods will be closely examined, assured faction leader Christoph Steiner at a press conference. The goal is to "end funding without benefit." Which subsidies this would affect must be decided by politics, said Secretary General Michael Schnedlitz.

"Agitators of the Left Parallel World"

There have been 300 billion in subsidies since 2013, said Schnedlitz. Not every one of them was necessarily bad, but he suspects abuse, especially in the environment of the ÖVP and SPÖ. The FPÖ, for example, disapproves of subsidies to an institute of former Defense Minister Werner Fasslabend (ÖVP). Tens of thousands of euros have flowed through this for mediation projects in Iraq and Honduras. The FPÖ doubts whether this is justifiable in times of austerity.

Steiner criticized that NGOs are currently not subject to any control at all. They are "part of the power." The government uses them "for its own propaganda." Crises are their business model: "There is no crisis without the appropriate NGO." The representatives of the organizations then appear as "agitators of the left parallel world" and start "left re-education programs."

FPÖ Initiated "Small Investigative Committee"

The "small investigative committee," which is formally a subcommittee of the Court of Audit Committee, will start its substantive sessions at the end of November. The FPÖ will publish documents such as parliamentary inquiries and their responses on a dedicated page online. There will also be a newsletter for those interested. Anyone who learns about "dubious club structures" is asked to contact the Freedom Party, Steiner requested.

The FPÖ states that the goal is to at least specify the performance records of the subsidies. It will also be possible to reduce the subsidies for some organizations to zero, said Schnedlitz. Even if some goals are noble, state support is not necessarily needed for them, Steiner argued.

(APA/Red)

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