No peace after all?

“A dream”: Peace in sight in the Lugner household

For the first time in a long time, there is good news in the Lugner case.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Andreas Tischler / Vienna Press, Heribert Kasper)

Heribert Kasper continues to try to mediate between the Lugner fronts and claims to have achieved the unbelievable, at least according to his own statements. But now Leo Lugner counters sharply and dashes his hopes again ...

Unasked but determined, the sports car fan known as "Mr. Ferrari", Heribert Kasper, continues to work on reuniting the estranged surviving relatives of the master builder, at least that's what he claims to have tried. Since the death of his friend Richard Lugner, there has been an icy silence between his widow Simone and the rest of the family - it's all about (lost) jobs, money and secrecy.

While Simone herself has been busy appearing in the media to defend her point of view, Jaqueline in particular - "Mortar's" favorite daughter - has made herself scarce so far. It was only on Tuesday evening that she ventured back onto the social scene accompanied by her husband Leo - but without saying a word about the tense family situation.

As already mentioned, Heribert Kasper is the one who does need to talk: and as he himself has now reported, he was also successful in his role as mediator: "I had a very positive conversation with Leo Lugner today. He was informed by me that Simone is not interested in a job, but that she just wants to talk to the whole Lugner family again and make up! Peace and cohesion are more important to her than a job! Personally, I think it's a great gesture on her part," enthuses the 70-year-old. 

But that's not all: even mistakes are soon to be admitted in order to fully restore family peace: "She would also like to apologize if she has perhaps made a mistake. Leo then promised me that they would talk to Simone again, but only in a few weeks' time, when things have calmed down a bit. Personally, I am overjoyed that my efforts, faith and hope have been rewarded and that Richard can rejoice in heaven again!"

So far, the unspeakable feud seemed to be coming to a good end - until the new patriarch of the family, Leo Lugner, spoke out angrily! There had been no such conversation - at least not exactly as Heribert Kasper quoted from it ...

Kasper as a self-promoter
"It seems that after a brief, non-binding phone call with me, Mr. Kaspar has created some misunderstandings. The offer to talk to him in person at a later date was addressed exclusively to him. It is therefore all the more regrettable that he is now trying to push himself to the fore at the expense of others and make a name for himself in the media. This behavior is disappointing and was in no way in the spirit of the conversation."

The FPÖ politician contacted the "Krone" shortly after the first report with this completely different sounding statement. It was important to him to clear up the misunderstandings and not to offer any "busybodies" any media space at the expense of his family. So the Lugner case will probably keep us busy for longer than we had hoped for ...