He had resigned in October as head of Government after being related to an alleged corruption case of which he is proclaimed innocent
Austrian Sebastian Kurz, the youngest chancellor to govern Austria, has announced his resignation from politics, from which he was already removed in October for his alleged involvement in a corruption case within his government.
According to the Austrian press, it was the birth of his son that finally made him make the decision. The also leader of the Austrian People’s Party (OVP) explained at a press conference that, when he saw the baby, something “clicked”. “You can look at such a small baby for hours,” he indicated in an emotional speech.
The former foreign minister, who took office for the first time at the age of 31 and now has 35, has referred to the accusations of corruption that weigh on him and has indicated that the last months have been “very exhausting.” As he explained, his activity has focused on “defense against accusations”, and has completely moved away from “normal politics”, which he has said, focuses on “competition for the best ideas.”
“I am not a saint or a criminal,” he continued, before acknowledging that he is a person “with flaws and weaknesses” and stating that he awaits “eagerly the day when he can prove in court that the accusations are false.”
Kurz has also alluded to his tenure as chancellor and lamented that, in office, it is possible to “make the wrong decisions.” “You are always under observation, you always have the feeling of being persecuted,” he added, according to the newspaper ‘Kronen Zeitung’. However, he stated that holding the Austrian Chancellery has been “the honor” of his life and that he is “extremely grateful.”
Uncertainty in the match
Kurz is accused of inciting the payment of bribes, while several people in his closest circle are accused of paying them. Notable among them are its media strategists Johannes Frischmann and Gerald Fleischmann. The investigation is related to polls allegedly commissioned by the Austrian Ministry of Finance in which Kurz and the Austrian People’s Party were favored and which appeared in a group of media in the country. As a result of the scandal, the Greens, Kurz’s coalition partners, had demanded his resignation to remain in government.
Kurz’s departure comes as a shock to Austrian politics, as many conservatives believed that his successor, Alexander Schallenberg, a career diplomat, only intended to run until the former chancellor could clear his name and return. Until October, he was even expected to remain chancellor for years. His People’s Party is one of the main traditional parties in Austria, but since Kurz assumed his leadership in 2017, it has largely built around him, leaving no obvious choice to succeed him as his strongman. The Austrian press points to the Minister of the Interior, Karl Nehammer, as the replacement at the head of the OEVP.
Dizzying career
Secretary of State for Integration with 24 years, Minister of Foreign Affairs with 27, President of the Austrian People’s Party (OEVP) with 30 and Federal Chancellor of the Alpine Republic with 31. The career of the young Sebastian Kurz has been dizzying. The son of a high school teacher and an expert, he grew up in the Viennese working-class neighborhood of Meidling. His arrival at the chancellery in 2017 showed his capacity for the pact, by forming a coalition government with the ultra-nationalist FPOE party. But the adventure lasted only 18 months and ended with a scandal when a video of the president of the FPOE, Hans Cristian Strache, was made public, in which he offered a suspected Russian oligarch, among other things, juicy state contracts in exchange for financial aid for your election campaign. The images were prior to the elections that allowed him to enter the Government as vice chancellor.
Kurz emerged strengthened from this stumbling block despite criticism from public opinion and managed to regain public trust. He won the early elections of 2019 with clear and resounding results, as resounding as the collapse of the ultras. In January 2020, he achieved another unexpected government pact and closed a new government coalition, this time with Los Verdes, a party that was thus in power in Austria. Another short-lived journey, which ended last October when, following the first bribery allegations, the Green Party questioned Kurz’s ability to continue in office. He resigned six days later, a decision that has ultimately led to his farewell to politics.
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