Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, suspected of corruption, announces his resignation

The chancellor Austrian, Sebastian Kurz, announced his resignation this Saturday night, amid mounting pressure for his involvement in a corruption scandal.

In a statement broadcast on television, Kurz said that “it would be irresponsible” to leave the country in months of “chaos or blockade” for those allegations, which he described as “false”, and that he wanted to ensure that Austria has “stability”.

“I want to give way to avoid chaos,” said Kurz, who, he said, proposed his foreign minister, Alexander Schallenberg, to succeed him.

According to the prosecution, between 2016 and 2018 praiseworthy articles and polls favorable to Kurz were published in exchange for the purchase of an advertising space by the Ministry of Finance, at that time in the hands of the conservatives.

On Wednesday, the prosecution announced that Kurz and nine other suspects, as well as three organizations, are being investigated for various crimes related to this case, following a series of searches carried out in the morning, in particular at the headquarters of the conservative party, OVP.

On Thursday, the Austrian Greens, OVP’s minority partner in government, questioned Kurz’s ability to continue his action as chancellor.

First become chancellor in December 2017, Kurz lost his first coalition partner, the far-right party FPÖ, due to a corruption scandal in May 2019 known as the “Ibizagate”.

He returned to power in January 2020, hand in hand with the Greens.

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