Friday, 29 Mar 2024

Austria no-confidence vote after far-right scandal

Austrian leader Sebastian Kurz faces a no-confidence vote on Monday amid political chaos over a secret video.

The video shows the head of the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) appearing to offer government contracts to a woman in exchange for electoral support.

The scandal has prompted the collapse of Mr Kurz’s coalition.

When Mr Kurz announced he was firing the FPÖ interior minister over the scandal, all the far-right ministers said they would resign in protest.

The Austrian parliament has tabled a special session for 27 May – and the motion of no confidence has been tabled by a small environmental opposition party, Jetzt (Now).

Two FPÖ politicians were seen in the incriminating video: party leader and Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache, who resigned on Saturday, and FPÖ parliament group leader Johann Gudenus.

Why is chancellor facing a vote?

The fallout has spread beyond the FPÖ to Chancellor Kurz, who is the leader of the centre-right People’s Party in the coalition government.

Mr Kurz effectively ended the coalition by calling for fresh elections in September and announcing the dismissal of Interior Minister Herbert Kickl – who was FPÖ secretary general at the time the video was made in 2017.

Mr Kurz said he wanted “total transparency and a completely and unbiased investigation”.

Other FPÖ ministers, however, said on Monday they would stand by Mr Kickl and resign in solidarity.

Mr Kurz has said a caretaker government would continue in power until September vote, but his ruling party has only 62 seats in the 183-seat parliament.

The no-confidence motion, presented by Peter Pilz of the Jetzt party, called for a technocratic government to replace him until elections.

Mr Kurz had been part of two failed governments, he said. “Increasingly we get the impression that this failure is no accident…. With him apparently it’s about increasing his own power.”

“In the current situation, stability can only be achieved with an independent group of experts, not by a campaigning cabinet led by Kurz.”

It is unclear which parties will back the motion.

On Tuesday morning, Mr Kickl said his party would vote against the chancellor if a no-confidence vote was brought forward.

But a Freedom Party spokesman told the Austrian Press Association that Mr Kickl’s comments had been misinterpreted, and no decision had yet been taken.

What is in the video?

The scandal is widely being labelled “Ibiza-gate”, after the Spanish island where the video was recorded. It was made just weeks before the election which saw both the FPÖ and Chancellor Kurz’s People Party perform well.

In the footage, released last Friday by German media, Mr Strache can be seen relaxing and drinking for hours at a villa with Johann Gudenus, while they meet with a woman, considered an investor purported to be the niece of a Russian oligarch.

During the conversation, Mr Strache appears to propose offering her public contracts if she buys a large stake in the Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung – and makes it support the Freedom Party.

He is heard suggesting that a number of journalists would have to be “pushed” from the newspaper, and that he wants to “build a media landscape like [Viktor] Orban” – referring to Hungary’s nationalist leader.

Many questions remain unanswered about the video itself: it is not clear who recorded or how it was offered to German media outlets.

The timing of its release – a week before European Parliament elections across the EU – has also been called into question. The Vienna prosecutor is considering a possible criminal inquiry.

How did scandal unfold?

The video’s content was enough to force the resignation of Mr Strache on Saturday, within hours of it emerging and despite his protestations of innocence.

Chancellor Kurz said his party was “shocked”, labelling Mr Strache’s behaviour “a wrong approach to politics”. He also called for a criminal investigation.

And he revealed the long-standing friction between the coalition parties, saying: “Even if I didn’t express myself publicly at the time, there were many situations that I found difficult to swallow.”

“I must say quite honestly: Enough is enough,” he added.

Mr Kurz and President Alexander van der Bellen called for fresh elections over the scandal on Sunday.

A European Commission spokesman said members had “followed in disbelief as a leader of a political party was seen negotiating access to media and institutions, in exchange for funds from external benefactors who clearly do not have Europeans’ best interests at heart”.

A flurry of meetings and press conferences on Monday revealed little more, but it soon became clear that the FPÖ was standing by the interior minister.

Although the remaining FPÖ ministers announced their resignation, reports say only Mr Strache’s resignation is confirmed.

What happens next?

Austrians, in common with all other EU countries, are voting this week. Many who are voting by post have already cast their ballots, Austrian broadcaster ORF reports – and they cannot change their mind at this stage.

Meetings of senior officials continue, and it is possible the president may announce replacements for the FPÖ ministers, as the chancellor attempts to hold his government together.

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