This is no laughing matter: Austria is missing $4,000 worth of garden gnomes.
The Socialist Party, one of the country's main political parties, hung gnomes from lampposts around the country as a campaign method. Four hundred of the garden gnomes, known formally as "Coolmen," have gone missing.
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In a statement Monday, the Socialist Party "issued a garden gnome alert" as well as an official police complaint, the Associated Press reports. The value of the missing gnomes was 3,000 euros, which equates to roughly $4,000. Reinhold Einwaller, a member of the Socialist Party, told the BBC that if a rival party were responsible, the gnome theft would be "a major scandal."
The People's Party, meanwhile, denies it is responsible for the gnome theft. The Socialist Party is offering a 1,000-euro reward for information about the gnomes' location.
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