FW Leader Carinthia: Document Forgery Verdict in Klagenfurt

The Carinthian FW leader was accused of listing around 20 people without their knowledge as candidates for the Carinthian Chamber of Commerce election in March 2025. The public prosecutor's office (StA) subsequently filed a criminal motion. In the reasoning of the verdict, the judge spoke of "Urkundenfälschungen in 20 Fällen". The signatures had been "vervielfältigt und im Nachhinein eingetragen".

Confession and Line of Defense

When asked by the judge "Fühlen Sie sich im Sinne des Strafantrages schuldig?", the FW leader answered "Ja". He admitted: "Ich war mir der Tragweite nicht bewusst." In explanation, he and his lawyer referred to the system of the Chamber of Commerce elections. A distinction is made between two declarations. One must "das WK-Wahlsystem ansehen", it was said. When questioned personally, the accused, like his defense counsel, stated that it was "eine Serviceleistung, wenn jemand nicht zehnmal unterschreiben muss".

The defense argued that no damage had been caused. Furthermore, it was not a serious offense, and there were "keine general- oder spezialpräventiven Gründe für eine Verurteilung vor, weil der Beschuldigte kein Politiker ist". The judge followed this argument only in part. For the public prosecutor's office, it was "wegen der Vielzahl an gefälschten Unterschriften um ein schweres Vergehen". The judge also noted: "Sie haben das mehrfach gemacht und hatten Glück, dass die Sache nicht vor dem Landesgericht verhandelt wurde."

Amount of the Penalty and Pending Legal Force

The verdict was 150 daily rates of 35 euros each – totaling 5,250 euros. According to information from the proceedings, the accused had copied support declarations for the FW and, in some cases, had pre-printed forms signed. Several entrepreneurs listed on the candidate list had publicly appeared in March 2025 and stated that they had not signed the consent declarations on file. In response to an earlier STANDARD inquiry, the FW leader had stated the previous year that "alle Unterschriften" had been provided.

The verdict is not yet legally final. The defense had also previously pointed to the fact that the hearing duration of only 15 minutes was an indication to the lawyers of the main electoral commission of a possible diversion. This expectation had – as reported – not been confirmed. The public prosecutor's office's approach followed the criminal motion; the investigations had been completed beforehand.