Election campaign in Vösendorf

Mayor’s flyer leaves the opposition fuming

Zwander (SPÖ, left) against Koza (ÖVP) - these two will probably no longer be best friends(Bild: Patrick Huber, Molnar Attila, GemeindeVösendorf Krone KREATIV,)

The fact that Mayor Hannes Koza (ÖVP) is celebrating the closure of the investigation against him as if it were an acquittal, despite the diversion, cannot be accepted by the united opposition. The SPÖ in particular is harshly critical: "Grandiloquent aloofness!" However, it was the head of the town himself who started the election campaign . . .

Hannes Koza, ÖVP mayor of Vösendorf, who was targeted by the judiciary with his "invoice affair", informed the citizens by flyer that "all criminal proceedings against me have been dropped". However, the mayor made no mention of the fact that this only happened in the case of forgery of documents due to a diversion in which Koza had to pay around 2,000 euros.

Election campaign already raging
This is grist to the opposition's mill, as they are in the middle of an election campaign, especially as Koza had - as reported - fled to an early local council election after the allegations became known by persuading his parliamentary group to resign. Only he himself remained in office. On May 5, the political cards will therefore be reshuffled in Vösendorf. 

"Diversion is not an acquittal"
Neos spokeswoman Indra Colini and Alexandra Wolfschütz (Greens) emphasized: "A diversion is not an acquittal." What's more, the ÖVP politician himself admitted that he had falsified the lawyer's invoice that he had received after a controversial posting, as Kerstin Liebl, the FPÖ's top candidate for the Vösendorf election, noted: "It seems somewhat bizarre that he is now playing the innocent lamb. If someone does that in the private sector, they'll be out of a job in a second."

It is clear that Koza has neither shown responsibility nor drawn any consequences from his misconduct. If he had done so, he would have resigned."

Indra Collini, Landessprecherin der Neos

SPÖ pleads for a fresh start
This is also emphasized by SPÖ regional manager Wolfgang Zwander: "This is a form of narrow-minded and pompous arrogance that is an insult to every honest citizen." This is "absolutely unworthy behavior" for a mayor. "Vösendorf deserves a fresh start!" concludes Zwander.