Vienna FPÖ asks city auditors to examine chamber ties

Vienna’s FPÖ has asked the City Audit Office to review cooperation between the Vienna Chamber of Commerce and the city, ORF reports. The proposed audit would examine media partnerships and purchases of publications.

FPÖ parliamentary group leader Maximilian Krauss and state party secretary Lukas Brucker said on Tuesday that the review should assess whether the spending serves an informational purpose and complies with the “Kopfverbot” set out in the Media Transparency Act.

The party also wants the audit to examine holdings and funds, including the Vienna Business Agency and the Vienna Employee Support Fund, known as waff. “Anyone who spends public money must be able to show what it was used for and what benefit it brings. We demand full transparency,” the two politicians said in a statement.

The request was prompted by comments from Walter Ruck, who has since resigned as chamber president. The FPÖ said events involving the Chamber of Commerce and its links to city hall had revealed a view of power in which the right contacts apparently mattered.