An investigation has been opened for corruption and breach of trust. The one who had become in late 2017 the youngest elected leader on the planet is swept up in the scandal for the second time, after a previous political storm in 2019 that he had spectacularly managed to overcome.
“It would be irresponsible to slide into months of chaos or deadlock,” he told reporters in Vienna, explaining that he was stepping down for the “stability” of the country while refuting “false accusations.” “I want to give way to avoid chaos,” he added, saying he had proposed the name of his foreign minister, Alexander Schallenberg, to succeed him.
Since the announcement on Wednesday by the public prosecutor’s office of the opening of an investigation against him for corruption, Sebastian Kurz was under pressure to step down. The 35-year-old leader had previously refused, denouncing “fabricated” allegations. But he finally preferred to step down under the threat of further impeachment by parliament. The elected representatives were to vote on Tuesday on a motion of no confidence tabled by the opposition.
Sebastian Kurz is suspected of having used government funds in the past to secure favorable media coverage. According to the prosecution, between 2016 and 2018, laudatory articles and “partially manipulated” opinion studies were allegedly published in exchange for the purchase of advertising space by the Ministry of Finance, which was run by the conservatives at the time.
Sebastian Kurz and nine other suspects, as well as three organizations, are being investigated for various offenses related to the case. Searches took place on Wednesday, including at the ÖVP headquarters and the chancellery. The prosecutors’ case is based on a series of telephone messages. “I will be able to get to the bottom of this, I’m sure,” Kurz said, stressing that some of the text messages were written “on the spur of the moment.” “I am just human, with emotions and mistakes,” he insisted. He remains at the head of the conservative party and will sit in parliament.
