Post #2091133

August Wöginger, head of the ÖVP faction in parliament, has just been found guilty of abuse of public office after intervening to ensure that a (male) party colleague who it was felt "was owed a favour" was awarded a senior job in a regional tax office over the obvious and most qualified internal candidate (who just happens to be a woman). His party have loyally stood by him up until now - "innocent until proven guilty" and all that - and have strongly resisted calls for him to resign. I wonder if they'll keep standing by him now he's received a 7 month suspended sentence and a large fine? I mean, they might. The standard that's expected here of political parties when their members and officers get caught breaking the law is, oddly, much lower than it is in the UK. Probably small-country culture - so much in Austrian politics, especially in the "old" parties, is tied to patronage and making the right friends in order to advance your career that this kind of thing is inevitable. [note: the sentence and verdict does not have legal effect until any appeals that either party might choose to make are exhausted.]