Overview
- Prosecutors allege Wolfgang Wöginger and two finance officials favored an ÖVP mayor for the leadership post at the Finanzamt Braunau-Ried-Schärding.
- Wöginger told the court he only forwarded the mayor’s application from his constituency office for review and maintained he did not seek an improper result.
- He expressed regret over the consequences of his intervention, stating he would not take the same step today.
- Wöginger recounted a chance meeting with then–Finance Ministry secretary general Thomas Schmid, where he asked officials to look at the candidate and called him suitable.
- He said he was unaware of the appointment procedure’s details, noted he was ÖAAB chairman but not a union official, and said he knew the mayor since 2015 through professional contexts.