The state government made a corresponding unanimous decision on Tuesday, according to state governor Markus Wallner (ÖVP) and Greens leader Daniel Zadra on Wednesday. The Vorarlberg Corporate Governance Code and the guidelines for public relations have been adjusted.
State government “ensures clear conditions”
“The state government ensures that the situation is clear where it can,” Wallner and Zadra stated in the joint broadcast on Wednesday. They would only be reluctant to intervene in the operational business of commercial companies, but the new requirements clearly express the will of the owner. With the ban on , “we can nip any suspicion of party financing in the bud in a roundabout way,” stressed Wallner and Zadra.
The Vorarlberg Corporate Governance Code (VCGK) contains legal regulations and recognized standards for the management and monitoring of companies in which the state of Vorarlberg has a stake. According to Wallner and Zadra, the supplement to the code now specifically states: The management must ensure that organizations, in particular the media, in which political parties, sub-organizations or organizations related to them are involved, are not commissioned (funded, sponsored or the like). .
The VCGK applies to all companies with more than ten employees and an annual turnover of more than 300,000 euros in which the state of Vorarlberg has a direct or indirect stake of at least 50 percent. According to Wallner and Zadra, all other companies with state holdings will work towards the application of the VCGK as part of the internal decision-making process. The VCGK cannot be applied to listed stock corporations.
New guidelines for PR
A ban on postings in party media was also added to the state’s public relations guidelines. There will no longer be any advertisements, paid PR contributions, printing cost contributions or similar in the media of political parties, sub-organizations or organizations related to them. This applies to all direct as well as all indirect placements (“commissioning via third parties”).