Politics must investigate corruption in Austria

The Australian parliament will vote this week on the establishment of a board of enquiry to investigate several political corruption scandals. With the exception of the Greens, all the Austrian parties are currently implicated in scandals. Among other things foreigners were naturalised after making large party donations. The liberal-conservative daily Die Presse sees a chance for the political clarification of these cases: "The division of labour between the board of enquiry and the judiciary will now be the decisive challenge: investigation under criminal law remains the task of the judiciary. But political investigation is carried out according to different criteria. Taking as an example the trade in citizenship: even if a judge has found it picayune in terms of criminal law when high sums change hands over questions of naturalisation, such matters are politically and morally incorrect. ... The board of enquiry can do good work here, both as regards coming to terms with the past and mapping out a new course for the future: the rules for naturalisation can then be amended in the light of the board's findings."

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