In the weeks-long dispute in the South Tyrol People’s Party (SVP) over the SAD case over various wiretapping protocols, Governor Arno Kompatscher and party chairman Philipp Achammer tried to close ranks. At a press conference in Bolzano yesterday, they called for resignations in the second row of the party. Kompatscher demanded the departure of health adviser Thomas Widmann and stripped him of his powers.
In Achammer’s presence, he asked Widmann, who had made derogatory remarks about the governor in the intercept records, to resign, Kompatscher said in the short-term press release after a party meeting at the SVP’s Bozen headquarters.
“Worst Governor” of all time
The governor did not want to say what Widmann replied. Either way, he would deprive the party rock of its powers in state government. Kompatscher praised the work of the State Board of Health, particularly during the pandemic. However, the trust relationship was completely destroyed. In one of the wiretapped calls, Widmann described Kompatscher as the “worst governor” South Tyrol has ever had.
Achammer, in turn, demanded the resignation of the party’s vice president, Karl Zeller, Kompatscher’s confidant and lawyer. Opponents of the governor accused him of forwarding the minutes to the media.
Prosecutor’s Office closed investigation
The background to the disputes within the collecting party is the publication of 2018 wiretapping protocols relating to investigations by the Public Prosecutor’s Office into the awarding of concessions for public bus service in South Tyrol. A book entitled “Freunde im Edelweiß” was recently published.
The Public Ministry’s investigations, also against Kompatscher, ended in early December with the finding that the public administration and the state governor did not err and acted exclusively in the public interest.