Green drama escalates

Political couple sue top candidate Schilling

Lena Schilling, lead candidate of the Greens for the EU elections in June(Bild: APA/TOBIAS STEINMAURER)

The next bombshell in the Green drama surrounding EU top candidate Lena Schilling. Although a settlement had already been reached in court and Schilling had signed a cease-and-desist declaration, a contentious activist couple is now filing a civil lawsuit against the 23-year-old.

It was highly private statements whose public disclosure by some media outlets had put Lena Schilling under pressure. Specifically, it concerned a statement made by Schilling about the married couple Sebastian and Veronika Bohrn Mena. 

Bohrn Menas filed a lawsuit for the first time
A legal dispute ensued and a settlement was agreed. Schilling signed a declaration to cease and desist. But now the Bohrn Menas have filed a lawsuit for the first time - under civil law.

As the Ö1 "Mittagsjournal" reports, they want the leading Green candidate to retract her statements and apologize. Schilling's lawyer has already been served with the statement of claim, but the first court hearing is not scheduled until after the EU elections.

Under constant fire
The 23-year-old Lena Schilling has been under constant fire for days because, at least according to "Standard" research, she is spreading untruths and is therefore not qualified to be a top EU candidate. New allegations were recently published, with private feuds of all kinds coming to light - for example, she is said to have accused a leading politician (of a competitor) of domestic violence.

Lena Schilling, top candidate of the Greens for the EU elections in June(Bild: APA/TOBIAS STEINMAURER)

The Greens have already demonstratively backed their lead candidate.(Bild: APA/TOBIAS STEINMAURER)

"Organized campaign"
As is well known, a small "Schilling special commission" was set up in the "Standard" to compile her "psychogram" with 50 people from Schilling's circle. We can only speculate about the background. In any case, the Greens see this as an "organized campaign". According to club leader Sigrid Maurer (allegedly disparaged by Schilling herself), this is aimed directly at young women.

Van der Bellen: "Leave private life out of it"
On Tuesday, Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen, former federal spokesperson for the Greens, also commented on the accusations against Schilling - albeit with restraint.

Alexander Van der Bellen commented cautiously on the accusations against Lena Schilling.(Bild: APA/Eva Manhart)

In an Ö1 interview, he said that young people don't make mistakes, if they have made any at all. He had certainly made some. Van der Bellen could do without dragging his private life into election campaigns: "Politics is one thing and private life is another."