Another scandal?

Thurnher spends 450,000 euros on consultants

Interim Director Thurnher is under pressure.(Bild: APA/MAX SLOVENCIK)

One scandal follows another at Küniglberg. After allegations of harassment, excessive salaries, and lavish pensions, the money paid by mandatory license fee payers is now being thrown out the window on external consultants. The “Krone” knows who got how much...

According to information from the “Krone,” interim Director General Ingrid Thurnher has hired external consultants for hundreds of thousands of euros in just a few weeks. Here’s how:

Although the ORF has three legal departments, 100,000 euros have been paid to lawyers since March 13. The same goes for the whistleblower hotlines: there are three of them, and now 43,000 euros have been thrown out the window for a fourth.

280,000 euros are budgeted for the Transparency Advisory Board through the summer. For communications—despite a massive in-house communications department—she spent 26,000 euros. All of this adds up to the staggering sum of 449,000 euros in just a few weeks. When asked, the ORF did not provide any figures, stating they could not be determined over the weekend. However, the figure cited is not verifiable. “Since the Director General took office, no consulting fees of even remotely comparable amounts have been incurred.” 

Westenthaler did not vote for Thurnher.(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

The “Krone” confronted the Blue Party members of the foundation board—the only ones who did not vote for Thurnher—with the figures. Peter Westenthaler is stunned. “It looks as though Ms. Thurnher, measured by her tenure, is now the most expensive Director General of all time.”

It looks as though Ms. Thurnher, measured by her tenure, is now the most expensive general director of all time.

ORF-Stiftungsrat Peter Westenthaler

“She’s setting up expensive duplicate and triplicate structures. No one really knows exactly why she’s doing this.” Thurnher is creating her own personnel structure. This may be a sign that she wants to stay longer, according to Westenthaler. The fact is that there is absolutely no cost awareness at ORF.

Thurnher defended the household fee during her hearing before the Foundation Board. “She is a supporter of the household fee. And given these enormous expenditures, we now know why,” says Westenthaler. 

As a member of the Foundation Board, he himself is controversial. Observers wonder how a member of an ORF oversight body can play the ratings star at a private broadcaster.