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A Sobotka photo costing 30,000 euros—paid for by taxpayers
Everything is getting more expensive—and apparently even in places where, despite inflation, it shouldn’t have to. In this case, in the National Council. Former National Council President Wolfgang Sobotka (ÖVP) wants to be immortalized with a photo of himself costing 30,000 euros. When asked, Parliament confirmed that a contractual agreement has been reached—and the uproar over it was, of course, inevitable.
Kronen Zeitung als bevorzugte Google-Quelle hinzufügen Honor to whom honor is due. That applies in the National Council as well. Portraits of nearly all former Presidents of the National Council are displayed in a hallway near the plenary chamber in Parliament, arranged chronologically by year of office. It’s a political custom for the second-highest-ranking officials in the state. The House of Representatives features paintings depicting great figures such as Leopold Figl, Leopold Gratz, Karl Renner, and Heinz Fischer. However, not all of the more recent dignitaries have yet been immortalized in art.
Bures took care of it; Köstinger is still hesitating
Doris Bures, who served in this office from September 2,September 2014 to November 8, 2017, and currently serving only as Third President of the National Council following the SPÖ’s heavy losses in the elections, has already commissioned a portrait, which will be displayed after she leaves the National Council. Her successor, short-term President Elisabeth Köstinger (Nov. 9 to Dec. 17, 2017), has not yet availed herself of this honor.
Things are now getting more concrete with Köstinger’s successor, Wolfgang Sobotka. The controversial ÖVP politician has always been known for his expensive artistic touches in the National Council; he rented a golden piano for a total cost of 36,000 euros, which he returned after one year. And, much to the annoyance of many taxpayers, on the second-to-last day of his term, he purchased sculptures by the artist Erwin Wurm for an additional 271,000 euros.
It was a purchase that Harald Dossi, the long-serving Parliamentary Director who recently retired, did not want to approve for legal reasons, but was ultimately forced to do so on instructions (Dossi’s only such directive in all those years under many presidents). And a purchase that— as the “Krone” reported —FPÖ National Council President Walter Rosenkranz had reversed. Now, however, it will once again cost the Republic dearly.
Additional costs for transportation
This is because Sobotka intends to fully utilize the allocated budget of 30,000 euros for his portrait. And not for a painted work, but for a photograph taken by his apparent favorite artist, Erwin Wurm. When asked, Parliament confirmed that a contractual agreement has been reached—but it does not involve a painted portrait or a sculpture, but rather just a photograph. Apparently, taxpayers will even be charged extra for transportation costs and taxes. The work is scheduled to be hung within three months.
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