Turquoise excitement

ÖVP attacks Kurz judge: what’s the problem?

Radasztics was the judge in the Kurz trial.

(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

The ÖVP believes that the judge in the Kurz trial, Michael Radasztics, has an "appearance of bias" due to a past disciplinary sanction. Does the ex-chancellor's party have a point or is it just making things look bad?

Guilty of making a false statement and sentenced to eight months' probation was the non-appealable sentence handed down last Friday by Judge Radasztics against former Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP). The former dazzling political star feels - as he says - "unfairly" treated.

Michael Radasztics

(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

The judge was a thorn in the side of Kurz's legal team even before the first day of the trial. They wanted a change of judge as Radasztics was biased due to alleged contacts with former Green MP and Kurz "enemy" Peter Pilz.

There was neither a personal relationship nor a relationship of trust with Pilz, the lawyer replied in October.

Did Radasztics do something wrong?
What the judge did not mention was that he was convicted under disciplinary law in two cases in May 2023, both dating back to his time as a public prosecutor. In 2018, Radasztics had informed Pilz, then a member of the National Council, of the existence of an instruction as part of the Eurofighter proceedings - in the aftermath of an official hearing and in the presence of another public prosecutor.

Team Kurz considers Judge Radasztics to be biased.

(Bild: AFP)

It is important to note that Radasztics did not share any investigation results from the file, but merely passed on internal administrative information. Pilz would have received the previously secret information anyway. The existence of the instruction was passed on to the Eurofighter U Committee shortly afterwards. Pilz therefore had a time advantage due to Radasztics, which was relevant under disciplinary but not criminal law.

ÖVP: "Appearance of bias"
The judge was also convicted for this by the Graz Higher Regional Court and fined. So why the fuss? The decision was only entered into the legal information system (RIS) on Monday. In other words, after the verdict in the Kurz trial. In a hastily convened press conference, ÖVP Secretary General Christian Stocker came out to support his former boss. He sensed an "appearance of bias".

Stocker referred to the fact that a few years ago, as has now been revealed in detail, the Kurz judge had informed Pilz that certain parts of the Eurofighter files had to be returned to the Ministry of Defense for reasons of national security. However, Stocker was unable to explain during his press conference to what extent this was connected to the Kurz trial.

Stocker has many questions
However, the statements made by the ÖVP man - himself a lawyer - suggest that the People's Party is also aware that the case is probably less spectacular than it initially sounds. Right at the beginning of his statement, Stocker made it clear that "the following statements are not to be understood as criticism of the judiciary in general and the administration of justice in particular".

He raised the question of whether Radasticzs should have informed the public about the disciplinary decision. "Probably not. Should he have? In my opinion, yes." Stocker also wondered: "Would the proceedings have taken a different course if we had known this before the trial began?"

Apples and pears
Friedrich Forsthuber, President of the Vienna Regional Court, clearly disagrees with Stocker's statements: "This is of course part of a PR litigation that is taking place here to attack the person of the judge," he told the "Ö1-Mittagsjournal". "Apples and oranges" were being mixed up here. "The disciplinary proceedings have absolutely nothing to do with the conduct of the current proceedings against former Federal Chancellor Kurz."

The fact that the decision was only published on Monday - just three days after the verdict against Kurz and Bonelli - is a coincidence, according to the Graz Higher Regional Court, as it took a long time to anonymize it.

Criticism from the coalition partner
The Greens and the SPÖ told Stocker to refrain from "accusations from politics to the independent judiciary". "Conspiracy-theory press conferences" are actually only known from the Freedom Party, and every single one of them is too much, said Green Party Secretary General Olga Voglauer in a press release.

Stocker is lying into his own pocket: "The ÖVP Secretary General says that his aim is to prevent doubts about the judiciary, but he is spreading them himself by dishonestly mixing disciplinary matters and criminal proceedings and constructing connections that do not exist. As a lawyer, Christian Stocker should know better". Jan Krainer (SPÖ) found that the ÖVP was "undermining the foundations of the Republic in its blind zeal in defending Kurz and the Kurz system".

Immediately after the verdict, Kurz's lawyer Otto Dietrich and Bernhard Bonelli's lawyer Werner Suppan announced that they would appeal on the grounds of nullity, guilt and punishment. This must now be dealt with by the Vienna Higher Regional Court.