Exposer resigns

Krisper resigns from NEOS and from politics

She is probably one of the best-known personalities from past committees of inquiry. The NEOS must now look for a new investigator.(Bild: APA/MICHAEL GRUBER)

She is regarded as one of the most high-profile whistleblowers in the Austrian parliament - now she is drawing a clear line: the NEOS member of parliament is resigning her seat in the National Council at the end of October - and thus also leaving parliamentary politics.

The decisive factor is that her sphere of influence has been "reduced to such an extent" by the NEOS' participation in government that she "no longer sees any point in parliamentary activity", Krisper said in an initial statement. The former deputy leader of the NEOS is now making room for someone else and is seeking an orderly retirement.

She will remain on the party's Extended Board, but in future she wants to "campaign for human rights and against corruption from an independent position".

Concise voice for enlightenment
Krisper, who has been a member of NEOS since 2012, is considered one of the party's most prominent parliamentarians. In 2017, she entered the National Council via a Vienna basic mandate and has since been one of the most concise voices for clarification and transparency in several committees of inquiry - including the BVT, Ibiza and ÖVP Corruption U Committee. Her legally sound questions often brought her into the headlines.

She is probably one of the best-known personalities of past committees of inquiry. The NEOS must now look for a new investigator.(Bild: APA/MICHAEL GRUBER)

After growing dissatisfaction with the party line, the NEOS MP is ending her political career.(Bild: APA/ROLAND SCHLAGER)

Alienation from her own party in terms of content
Now the lawyer with a doctorate also justifies her move with a substantive alienation: In the governing coalition with the ÖVP, the "cutbacks on the issues close to my heart were very big", says Krisper. This was particularly clear when it came to stopping family reunification for people seeking protection and the introduction of messenger surveillance - both measures that she had always rejected.

Sees no courage for a "clear counter-concept to the FPÖ"
"A lot has shifted in terms of my key issues," she explained. For her, it was a matter of principle: "How much remains of our stance on human rights and the rule of law? Do we respect the constitution or are we pushing its boundaries too far?" She also said she lacked "the courage to have a clear counter-concept to the FPÖ".

This has resulted in a conflict of loyalties for her - "between what I have stood up for in my previous professional life and as an MP, and the NEOS as a governing party". Krisper described her almost eight years in parliament as a "privilege" and said she was leaving the National Council "full of gratitude and with melancholy". She wants to remain true to her topics, "only the place is changing".

Her questioning triggered the Kurz trial
Krisper became known above all for her formative role in several parliamentary committees of inquiry. She led the parliamentary group for the NEOS in the BVT committee (2018-2019), as well as in the Ibiza Investigation Committee (2020-2021) and the ÖVP Corruption Investigation Committee (from 2021). Her sharp, often legally precise questions earned her respect beyond party boundaries - and made her one of the central voices in parliamentary investigations.

Her role in the Ibiza U Committee, in which she asked the then Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) the question whose answer later became the starting point of the proceedings for false evidence, was particularly well received by the public. The complaint by the NEOS then led to charges being brought by the Public Prosecutor's Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption - Krisper's questioning was thus the trigger for the subsequent controversy.

Recent fuss about "messenger surveillance"
Krisper also regularly took a stand against what she saw as excessive encroachments on civil rights in ongoing legislative work. In 2022, she voted against the introduction of mandatory COVID-19 vaccination and in July 2025 against so-called "messenger surveillance". In both cases, she argued with constitutional concerns and warned against restricting individual freedoms.

True to her principles to the end
Before Krisper entered politics, she made a name for herself as a human rights expert. Her professional career took her to the Human Rights Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the EU Delegation to the United Nations in Geneva. From 2009 to 2017, she worked at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights in Vienna, where she specialized in torture prevention.

With her retirement, Parliament is losing a Member of Parliament who has made a name for herself over the years as a legally adept, principled voice for transparency and human rights - and who never shied away from asking uncomfortable questions, even within her own party.