All opposition trainings demanded the resignation of the Chancellor from the announcement on Wednesday of the opening of an investigation for corruption that targeted it directly.
Le Monde
The Austrian Chancellor Kurz, suspected of corruption, announced his resignation on Saturday, October 9th. “It would be irresponsible to slide towards months of chaos or impasse,” said Mr. Kurz in front of the press in Vienna, explaining to withdraw for “the stability” of the country while refuting “false accusations”.
According to the prosecution, between 2016 and 2018, “the resources of the Ministry of Finance have been used to” finance partially manipulated opinion polls that served exclusively partisan political interest “.
m. Kurz and nine other suspects, as well as three organizations, are investigated for various offenses related to this case. Searches were held on Wednesday, particularly at the headquarters of the Conservative Party ÖVP and the Chancery. In a statement, the prosecutors had indicated that their investigations directly target the young and very popular Chancellor for “misappropriation, corruption and influence trading”.
Previous corruption scandal in 2019
All opposition courses demanded the resignation of the Chancellor. The Austrian Greens, the minority partners of the government, had also questioned Thursday the conservative’s ability to continue its action as Chancellor. The vice-Chancellor and leader of ecologists, Werner Kogler, had estimated that “a new stage had been crossed” with the opening of the investigation. The Parliament had to meet Tuesday in extraordinary session, with the possible deposit of a motion of common censure.
Entering the government as a Secretary of State ten years ago then became Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sebastian Kurz has first granted the Chancery in December 2017. Associated with the FPÖ far-right party, he has Given his government carried away in May 2019 by a corruption scandal, known as Ibizagate.
He then returned to power in January 2020, this time alongside the Greens, a coalition that had already been sorry many times due to other cases and differences in views on the issue of refugees.