35-year-old Austrian Chancellor Resigns over Corruption Probe

Pat Stevens/

Austrian chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, has resigned, just days after he was named as a suspect in an investigation by state prosecutors into grand corruption at the heart of the Austrian government.

In a brief statement on this evening at the Ballhausplatz — the seat of the chancellery in Vienna — Kurz said it had been an honour to serve as minister and chancellor over his 10 year political career.

Kurz, 35, said he has proposed that the foreign minister, Alexander Schallenberg, be his replacement.

“My country is more important than I am,” he said, citing the need for stability and leadership as Austria emerges from the coronavirus pandemic. “This is not about me, it is about Austria.”

“What we need now are stable conditions,” Kurz told reporters earlier in Vienna. “So, in order to resolve the stalemate, I want to make way to prevent chaos and ensure stability.”

Kurz will move to lead his Austrian People’s party’s parliamentary faction.

“Kurz is not really stepping down, he is stepping back,” said political consultant Thomas Hofer. “Make no mistake, he remains in charge of the party, and Schallenberg is one of his closest allies. He will be thinking about a comeback.”

Kurz has not been charged with any wrongdoing, and has repeatedly asserted his innocence in regard to the allegations against him and members of his inner circle.

Following police raids across Vienna on Wednesday, information was leaked that anti-corruption prosecutors were investigating whether Kurz had been involved in a conspiracy that illicitly channelled taxpayers’ money from the ministry of finance in 2016 and 2017, when Kurz was still foreign minister, towards friendly media organisations in order to buy positive coverage, and help lever him into the chancellorship.

Over the subsequent 72 hours, news of the investigation triggered a political crisis in Vienna, uniting the country’s politically disparate opposition parties in their desire to oust Kurz.

His party had closed ranks behind him after the prosecutors’ announcement on Wednesday. But its junior coalition partner, the Greens, said on Friday that Kurz couldn’t remain as chancellor and demanded that his party nominate an “irreproachable person” to replace him.

Opposition leaders had also called for Kurz to go and planned to bring a no-confidence motion against him to parliament on Tuesday.

Kurz and his close associates are accused of trying to secure his rise to the leadership of his party and the country with the help of manipulated polls and friendly reports in the media, financed with public money. Kurz, who became the People’s party leader and then chancellor in 2017, has denied wrongdoing and until Saturday made clear he planned to stay on.

In today’s statement, he insisted again that the accusations against him “are false and I will be able to clear this up – I am deeply convinced of that”.

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