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Agence France-Presse

Austria’s Sebastian Kurz on Saturday announced he was stepping down as chancellor following pressure on him to resign after he was implicated in a corruption scandal.
In a televised media statement, Kurz said he wanted to “make space to prevent chaos”.
“We need stability,” the 35-year-old conservative said, adding it would be “irresponsible” to allow Austria to “slide into months of chaos or gridlock” while the EU member fights the coronavirus pandemic.

Kurz said he would nominate Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg as new chancellor, while he would stay on as the leader of his People’s Party (OeVP) and a politician in parliament.
Vice Chancellor and Greens leader Werner Kogler on Friday had asked the OeVP to name another chancellor, saying Kurz was “no longer fit for office”.
On Wednesday prosecutors raided several locations linked to the OeVP and announced that Kurz and nine other individuals were under investigation over claims that government money was used in a corrupt deal to ensure positive media coverage.
Kurz has denied any wrongdoing, reiterating on Saturday that allegations against him were false.
“I will be able to clarify it; I’m sure about that,” he said calmly.
He said some of the text messages he wrote that got him into hot water were composed in “the heat of the moment”.
“I’m just human with emotions and mistakes,” he said.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz ensnared in corruption probe
By stepping down, Kurz avoids having to face a parliamentary no-confidence motion, which he was expected to lose after his junior coalition partner, the Greens, turned against him.
In 2019, his coalition with the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) already collapsed after his ally became engulfed in a corruption scandal, but fresh elections once again saw Kurz’s OeVP come out on top.
In the latest scandal, according to prosecutors, the core allegation is that between 2016 and 2018, finance ministry resources were used to finance “partially manipulated opinion polls that served an exclusively party political interest”.
Austria investigates reports of ‘Havana syndrome’ sickness among US officials
This correlates to the time period in which Kurz, already a government minister, took over the leadership of the OeVP and later that of the Alpine EU member at the helm of a coalition with the FPOe.
Prosecutors allege that payments were made to an unnamed media company – widely understood to be the Oesterreich tabloid – in return for publishing these surveys.
The OeVP-Green coalition – a first at a national level – entered office in January 2020 and has already been put under strain several times by the fallout from other corruption scandals and differences over questions such as refugee policy.
Thousands of people demonstrated in front of the OeVP headquarters in central Vienna late on Thursday, calling for Kurz’s resignation while waving signs that read “Against corruption” and “Shame on you”.


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Austria

Austria’s Sebastian Kurz steps down as chancellor amid corruption claims

Austria’s Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Saturday he plans to step down. Photo: AP

FILE - In this Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021 file photo, Austria's Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg addresses the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, at U.N. headquarters. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said Saturday Oct. 9, 2021, that he plans to step down in an effort to defuse a government crisis triggered by prosecutors' announcement that he is a target of a corruption investigation. Kurz, 35, said he has proposed that Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg replace him. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool, File)

Czech billionaire Prime Minister Andrej Babis wins vote but falls short of majority

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis and his wife Monika Babisova in Prague, Czech Republic on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

FILE PHOTO: Re-elected Czech President Milos Zeman attends his inauguration ceremony at Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, March 8, 2018. REUTERS/David W Cerny/File Photo

epa09509776 The leader of the Freedom and Direct Democracy party (SPD) Tomio Okamura prepares for a television debate for the parliamentary elections at Czech Television in Prague, Czech Republic, 06 October 2021. The general elections in the Czech Republic will be held on 08 and 09 October 2021. EPA-EFE/MARTIN DIVISEK

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz ensnared in corruption probe

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. Photo: dpa

HANDOUT - 21 September 2021, US, New York: Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz attends the opening of the debate of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 76). Photo: Arno Melicharek/BKA via APA/dpa - ATTENTION: editorial use only and only if the credit mentioned above is referenced in full

Romania government collapses, plunging country into political crisis

Romania's Prime Minister Florin Citu reacts after his speech during the no-confidence vote procedure in Bucharest on Tuesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

(211005) -- BUCHAREST, Oct. 5, 2021 (Xinhua) -- Photo taken on Oct. 5, 2021 shows a view of the Parliament hall during a no-confidence vote against Romania's Prime Minister Florin Citu in Bucharest, Romania. The Romanian coalition government led by Prime Minister Florin Citu collapsed on Tuesday, losing a censure motion initiated by main opposition Social Democratic Party (PSD) and supported by all oppositions in the parliament plus the second largest party in the newly-split ruling coalition. The motion was passed by 281 votes in favor, much more than the required minimum of 234, or 50 percent plus one in the 467-seat bicameral parliament. Thus, Citu's cabinet was toppled ten days after the prime minister was elected leader of the main ruling National Liberal Party (PNL) and less than ten months after the cabinet took office on Dec. 23, 2020. (Photo by Cristian Cristel/Xinhua)

Members of the Romanian Parliament pose for a picture during a voting procedure of a non-confidence vote session against the government lead by prime minister Florin Citu at the Palace of Parliament in Bucharest on October 5, 2021. - The Romanian government of liberal Prime Minister Florin Citu was brought down by a no-confidence vote on October 5, 2021, threatening to plunge the country into fresh political instability. (Photo by Daniel MIHAILESCU / AFP)

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Kurz has denied any wrongdoing, reiterating on Saturday that allegations against him were ‘false’
Kurz said he would nominate Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg as the new chancellor



Kurz has denied any wrongdoing, reiterating on Saturday that allegations against him were false.


European Union

Austria’s Sebastian Kurz steps down as chancellor amid corruption claims

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Kurz has denied any wrongdoing, reiterating on Saturday that allegations against him were ‘false’ Kurz said he would nominate Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg as the new chancellor

Kurz has denied any wrongdoing, reiterating on Saturday that allegations against him were ‘false’

Kurz said he would nominate Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg as the new chancellor