Court expected to rule in former Linz mayor’s case
Friday 21st August 2026 on 05:15 in
Austria
The Linz Regional Court is expected to deliver a verdict on Friday in the breach-of-trust trial of former mayor Klaus Luger, ORF reported. Prosecutors accuse the SPÖ politician of commissioning a legal opinion costing 19,061.15 euros that primarily served his own interests.
The hearing is scheduled to run from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and centres on an opinion Luger commissioned during the Brucknerhaus and LIVA affair. It examined the possible legal consequences of questions for a job application being disclosed in advance.
Luger already knew at the time that he had passed the questions to Dietmar Kerschbaum, who had applied in 2017 for the position of LIVA’s artistic managing director and later got the job. The disclosure became public years later through a whistleblower. In August 2024, the Oberösterreichische Nachrichten newspaper published chats showing that Luger himself had sent the documents. He resigned as mayor shortly afterwards.
At the first day of the trial in early July, Luger pleaded not guilty but described commissioning the opinion as a “major mistake”. He said it had been necessary to determine how to respond to the whistleblower’s report under company law.
Prosecutors argue that the commission primarily served Luger’s personal interests. The opinion also dealt extensively with possible criminal consequences for him. Luger has since repaid the alleged loss.
The defence says the opinion also contained information relevant to LIVA. An initially proposed diversion was overturned by the Linz Higher Regional Court.
The judge had postponed a ruling after the first hearing and announced plans to hear the author of the opinion and another lawyer as witnesses. Both had also presented the opinion to LIVA’s supervisory board.
Luger told the court he had been in a “dilemma” and wanted to establish what steps to take and whether he had to inform anyone. He initially did not notify the supervisory board.
If convicted of breach of trust, Luger could face up to three years in prison. He is presumed innocent.
Kerschbaum was dismissed as LIVA’s artistic managing director during the affair. He challenged the dismissal in court but recently lost an appeal before the Linz Higher Regional Court.