Far-right ministers ready to quit Austrian government after Ibiza corruption scandal

Austria’s Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache resigned on Saturday ahead of EU elections

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Austrian Transport Minister and designated leader of far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) Norbert Hofer (l) and Interior Minister Herbert Kickl (FPOe) arrive to address a press conference. Photo: AFP

Published: 6:30pm, 20 May 2019Updated: 6:30pm, 20 May 2019

Austrian far-right ministers on Monday were ready to leave their positions after a corruption scandal caused the coalition government to collapse, the party leader said.

Conservative Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has called for fresh elections after a camera sting forced his deputy, Heinz-Christian Strache from the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), to resign on Saturday, just ahead of the EU elections.

Since then media speculation has been mounting that Kurz also wants controversial far-right Interior Minister Herbert Kickl out.

“We will give up our government offices if Interior Minister Herbert Kickl is forced out,” said Norbert Hofer, who is infrastructure minister and took over the FPOe leadership from Strache on Sunday.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (r) talks to Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen (l). Photo: EPA-EFE

Strache stepped down as vice-chancellor and FPOe leader after recordings published by German media Friday showed him offering government contracts in return for campaign help to a fake Russian backer in a villa on the resort island of Ibiza.

Elsewhere in the footage, Strache appears to hint at ways political donations could escape legal scrutiny.

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