Austria Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache resigns over video scandal involving Russian fixer
- The far-right leader met an alleged niece of a Russian oligarch to discuss investing in the country, according to a hidden camera sting
- Strache insisted he was the “victim of a targeted political attack”, which had used illegal means
Austrian Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache, a key figure of the European far-right, resigned on Saturday after explosive revelations from a hidden camera sting.
“I tendered my resignation as vice-chancellor of Austria to Chancellor Kurz, and he accepted this decision,” Strache said in a televised statement.
He would be replaced by Transport Minister Norbert Hofer.
Media reports emerged on Friday alleging that Strache promised public contracts in return for campaign help from a fake Russian backer he met in a luxury villa on the island of Ibiza a few months before 2017’s parliamentary elections in Austria.
On Saturday, Strache insisted he was the “victim of a targeted political attack”, which had used illegal means, but that he was leaving in order to avoid further damage to the government.
Germany’s Der Spiegel and Sueddeutsche Zeitung published hidden-camera recordings of the sophisticated sting operation.