Austria no longer has a chancellor this Saturday evening: Austrian conservative Sebastian Kurz, suspected of being involved in a corruption case, announced his resignation.
"It would be irresponsible to slip into months of chaos or deadlock," he told reporters in Vienna, explaining that he was withdrawing for "the stability" of the country while refuting "false accusations".
These accusations, what are they?
According to the prosecution, which opened an investigation, laudatory articles and polls favorable to Sebastian Kurz were published between 2016 and 2018 in exchange for the purchase of advertising space by the Ministry of Finance, managed at that time by the preservatives.
Shortly afterwards, the Austrian Greens, a minority partner of the ruling conservatives, questioned Sebastian Kurz's ability to continue as chancellor, without going so far as to openly demand his resignation.
The vice-chancellor and leader of the Greens, Werner Kogler, at the time confined himself to declaring that “the chancellor's capacity to act effectively is called into question” after the opening of this investigation.
But events have since accelerated.
"I want to give way to avoid chaos", explained this Saturday evening the resigned chancellor, explaining to have proposed the name of his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alexander Schallenberg, to succeed him.
Read also Who is Sebastian Kurz, the anti-immigration chancellor who heads Austria?
The 35-year-old leader had so far refused to resign, denouncing “fabricated” allegations.
But the Greens have increased their criticism over the days.
On Friday, Vice-Chancellor Werner Kogler had ruled that Kurz was "no longer able to perform his duties", after talks with the leaders of other parties.
Parliament was also due to meet next Tuesday in an extraordinary session to vote on a motion of censure tabled by the opposition.