He supports NGOs

Schilling affair puts state councillor in trouble

When Lena Schilling faced the public after the serious accusations, Kogler, Maurer and Gewessler were joined by provincial councillor Stefan Kaineder in Vienna to support the young EU candidate.(Bild: APA/TOBIAS STEINMAURER)

The drama surrounding the Green EU top candidate Lena Schilling has now also reached Upper Austria. Read here what a Green state councillor has to do with the affair.

In a big staged event, Green state councillor Stefan Kaineder (deputy federal spokesman for his party at national level) and regional politicians such as the mayor of Steyr, Markus Vogl (SPÖ), presented an event dedicated to food, agriculture and sustainability.

The Austrian Consumer Dialogues will take place in Steyr from June 24 to 26. The event is funded by the federal government, the provinces and the municipalities, with farmers, economists, Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig, Provincial Animal Welfare Councillor Michael Lindner - and Provincial Councillor Kaineder - taking part in the panel discussion. So far, so unexciting.

Sebastian Bohrn Mena is the initiator
The problem (from the Greens' point of view) is that the lectures and workshops are initiated and moderated by Sebastian Bohrn Mena, who plays a central role in the Schilling case together with his wife Veronika Bohrn Mena. A private rift between Schilling and the Bohrn Menas has contributed to the Green Party's stumbling shortly before the EU elections. Especially as the founder of COMÚN, Bohrn Mena, recently filed a lawsuit in the case.

Veronika Bohrn Mena and Green Party state councillor Stefan Kaineder(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Werner Dedl, Berufsfotograf)

The young EU candidate Schilling was accused of spreading the word that Veronika Bohrn Mena had been the victim of domestic violence by her husband Sebastian. Is it all a lie? Or is it all an intrigue against the Greens and the successful Lena Schilling?

Financial support has already been promised
It is questionable how Kaineder, from whose department there are promises of funding for Bohrn Mena's NGO, will react. His office is relaxed. If there are no more urgent appointments, the Provincial Councillor will take part in the consumer dialog in Steyr. Even if Bohrn Mena is there. Federal Green Party leader Werner Kogler, who is standing in front of Schilling and against Bohrn Mena, has also almost confirmed his attendance. This meeting in Steyr will certainly be interesting.