Charges brought

Mayor must now appear before the judge

A bang in the Waldviertel municipality of Pölla. The public prosecutor brings charges against Mayor Kröpfl.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Klaus Schindler)

Mayor Günther Kröpfl of Pölla (Lower Austria) reports that 106 complaints have been made against the municipality or him since 2015. But now the public prosecutor wants to see him in the dock.

The timing could not be more explosive: In the very week in which the municipal council elections take place on Sunday, the public prosecutor's office concluded its investigation into Günther Kröpfl, mayor of the municipality of Pölla in the Zwettl district.

Court and public prosecutor confirm
On Friday, the regional court in Krems confirmed the indictment against a local leader in the district, which was received on January 23. Over the course of the day, the evidence against Kröpfl became more and more concentrated until public prosecutor Franz Hütter confirmed the indictment for "a construction matter". It was not possible to find out more about the (not legally binding) indictment yesterday.

Mayor initially did not believe inquiry
Mayor Kröpfl, for whom the presumption of innocence applies, did not initially believe the "Krone" inquiry either: "Since 2020, I or the municipality have been reported more than 40 times. Since 2015, there have even been 106 charges! They have all come to nothing," says the mayor, emphasizing the lively culture of reporting in the municipality - especially "from the blue corner" or from quarrelling neighbors.

Political dirt buckets?
He was shocked to learn about the charges from the "Krone". He was not even aware of any open proceedings against him at the time. Kröpfl once again suspects a political smear campaign. He is happy to implement many projects that improve the quality of life in the municipality. "But with tours like this right before the election, it's really no fun anymore," he emphasizes and hopes that the voters will "correctly classify" the events.