Former Austrian chancellor and top candidate of the Austrian People's Party, OEVP, Sebastian Kurz arrives for a closing rally ahead of federal elections in Vienna, Austria, Sept 28, 2019. (MATTHIAS SCHRADER / AP)
VIENNA – Austria was slated to appoint its third chancellor in as many months after Sebastian Kurz said he will quit as party chief amid a corruption investigation, opening the way for a potential government reshuffle.
Interior Minister Karl Nehammer may take over as chairman of the People’s Party, becoming a likely candidate to also become chancellor, according to a person familiar with the discussions. The 49-year-old would unseat Alexander Schallenberg, just two months after he was hand-picked by Kurz as his successor.
ALSO READ: Austria's Kurz steps down over graft probe to save coalition
Sebastian Kurz's exit may allow the People’s Party to open a new chapter after the corruption probe dented its popularity. It has lost about 10 percentage points of public backing and was overtaken by the Socialists for the first time since 2017
A career politician and former communications trainer, Nehammer has made a name for himself for shutting borders during the pandemic and promoting a hard line on immigration.
His ministry was criticized for botching the surveillance of a radical Islamist who killed four in a Vienna terror shooting last year.
Kurz will formally hand in his resignation at a meeting of party leaders on Friday, he told reporters in Vienna, adding that his passion for politics had waned with the birth of his first child.
His departure completes the downfall of a tumultuous career that saw the erstwhile conservative prodigy become the youngest political leader in Europe and a standard-bearer for the center-right with his brand of polite populism.
The 35-year-old had moved to a position in parliament, maintaining his role as party chief, after being forced to resign as chancellor in October. That move was triggered by prosecutors raiding the offices of several close associates.
Kurz faces multiple investigations from state prosecutors, including allegations of false statements made to lawmakers and using public funds to plant forged opinion polls in newspapers to help him rise to power in 2017. He has denied wrongdoing.
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“I look forward to the day when I can prove the allegations against me are false,” Kurz said in a press statement on Thursday, repeating claims of a climate of political witch-hunting.
His exit may allow the People’s Party to open a new chapter after the corruption probe dented its popularity. It has lost about 10 percentage points of public backing and was overtaken by the Socialists for the first time since 2017.
Kurz will still have close allies in his party, but other conservative leaders have failed to match his talent for dominating the domestic political scene.
The corruption probe continues to reverberate in Austria with prosecutors still investigating thousands of text messages exchanged within his political entourage.
