Austrian Chancellor Announces Early Elections After Far-Right Party Political Scandal

On the evening of May 18, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz proposed holding early elections after a political scandal led to the departure of Vice Chancellor and Chairman of the far-right Freedom Party in the ruling coalition, Mr. Heinz-Christian Strache.

Speaking to journalists, Chancellor Kurz affirmed that thanks to the cooperation of Mr. Strache's Freedom Party (FPO) in the ruling coalition, his Austrian People's Party (OVP) can fulfill the commitments made before the election.

However, he admitted that tensions had emerged within the ruling coalition in recent times after a series of recent scandals involving members of the Austrian Freedom Party, and that Mr. Strache's latest scandal was the last straw, leading to the decision to end the ruling coalition and call for early elections.

“I tried to keep the coalition together after the first inappropriate behavior of a Freedom Party member. But after yesterday’s video, I have to say frankly that enough is enough,” said Chancellor Kurz.

Chancellor Kurz said he had proposed early elections to President Alexander Van der Bellen and the President approved them. In a statement to the press later, President Van der Bellen also confirmed that Austria would have an early election, but the specific time would be announced soon.

Earlier that day, during a press conference, Mr. Strache announced his resignation as Vice Chancellor and Chairman of the Freedom Party of Austria after two German newspapers on May 17 published a video in which he promised to award lucrative contracts to a partner, a woman believed to be a wealthy Russian investor, in exchange for help in the Austrian parliamentary elections in late 2017. Mr. Strache denounced this as a deliberate plot to overthrow him, but he still decided to resign to avoid affecting the reputation and operations of the Government.

The scandal has rocked Austrian politics as the opposition calls for the government to be dissolved and early elections called for. While politicians debated how to deal with the fallout from the scandal, thousands of people gathered outside the Chancellery in Vienna to demand early elections.

The collapse of Austria's ruling coalition comes just days before European Parliament elections, and is seen as a blow to the anti-immigrant nationalist parties that have emerged in Europe in recent years. Strache's Freedom Party is a key member of a group of nationalist parties hoping to make a surprise appearance in next week's European Parliament elections./.