Frank Gotthardt's political funding campaign draws scrutiny

The Edelweiss Netzwerk is conducting a campaign to inform approximately 1,000 medical practices in Germany about the financial connections of Frank Gotthardt, the founder and chairman of CompuGroup Medical (CGM). The campaign, supported by a donation from Stiftung COMÚN, aims to highlight how profits from CGM software—used by about one-third of 100,000 German medical practices—are being used to fund political campaign platforms.

Gotthardt has reportedly invested over 50 million euros into the deficit-ridden online portal NIUS. The Edelweiss Netzwerk characterizes these activities as right-wing propaganda that poses a threat to democracy.

The situation also has implications in Austria, as the NIUS operator company, VIUS, owns 75 percent of the Austrian online portal Exxpress. The network notes that the leadership of these entities includes former members of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), and that Gotthardt's management company in Vienna shares office space with firms linked to former Austrian political figures.