Briefly in the crisis: Austria again in a political state of emergency

After the Ibiza affair in 2019, Austria is again in a government crisis.

Chancellor Kurz ruled out a resignation, the next few days will be of historic importance.

Vienna - “Whoah!

We're going to Ibiza ”, it boomed in May 2019 over the Heldenplatz in Vienna in front of the Austrian Federal Chancellery.

Thousands of people had gathered there to call for new elections after the Ibiza video was released.

Austria was in a political state of emergency, an independent transitional government and new elections followed.

Two and a half years later, the now iconic song by the band Vengaboys resounded through the streets of Vienna.

This time in front of the party headquarters of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), the party with the most votes under the leadership of Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.

Austria is once again in a state of political emergency, the coming days will be decisive.

Government crisis after raid in Austria - a second Ibiza?

On Wednesday (October 6th) investigators from the Austrian Economic and Corruption Prosecutor's Office (WKStA)

raided

the Chancellery, the ÖVP headquarters, the Ministry of Finance and the media house of the popular tabloid newspaper

Austria

. The allegations are serious: The then Foreign Minister Kurz (in aid) and his team are said to have paid the medium more than one million euros from tax revenues in 2016 for embellished surveys. Basically, the Austrian population is said to have paid for their own fake news. The great beneficiary: Sebastian Kurz, who was soon elected Chancellor. The presumption of innocence applies to all parties involved.

The 104-page order for the house search puts Kurz under great pressure.

And since Thursday evening (October 7th) it has been known that access to files has been expanded and that the public prosecutor's office has now released around 500 pages of files - the allegations against Kurz and his employees are worked out in great detail.

The criminal law side will be clarified by a court, from a political point of view the barrel seems to be overflowing in Austria.

The end of the third coalition is looming in four years and, with the large number of confiscated cell phones and similar devices, a political bomb - many times bigger than the Ibiza scandal.

Allegations of corruption against Kurz - not the Chancellor's first scandal

The situation in Austria has not only been politically tense for the last few days. Sebastian Kurz has two election victories in his track record, in 2019 alone the ÖVP received more than 37 percent and emerged as the clear election winner. A result that the German counterpart of the CDU / CSU can currently only dream of. The 35-year-old Kurz and his politics are by no means undisputed, too many smaller and larger scandals have come to the public in recent years. Influenced studies on Islamic kindergartens, a controversial deletion of hard drives by the Federal Chancellery, the clear exceeding of the election campaign cost ceiling, investigations into false testimony before the Ibiza investigative committee - the manner of the "new political style" mentioned by Kurz has often been considered problematic.

With the results of the house searches, a new dimension seems to have been reached.

Kurz has not yet felt the pressure as it is now, and calls for resignation are increasing.

The Austrian daily

KURIER

, historically known as a more ÖVP-friendly paper, writes: "Kurz is no longer acceptable as a head of government." Government is no longer sustainable.

Kurz ruled out resignation - the Greens were forced to act

Chancellor Sebastian Kurz disagrees.

He ruled out a resignation, he had the backing of his party.

The decision now lies with the small government partner, the Greens.

Your party leader and Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler had already questioned Kurz's current ability to act as Chancellor on Thursday (October 7th).

Kurz countered on the same day: “If the Greens no longer want to continue this cooperation and want to look for other majorities in parliament, then that is to be accepted.

We are ready to continue our cooperation. ”On Friday (October 8th), however, sharp words from the Green parliamentary group leader Sigrid Maurer:“ It is very clear that someone like that is no longer capable of office. ”A continuation of the coalition with the ÖVP is only possible without a short.

+

Group leader Sigrid Maurer and the Greens leader and Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler keep their distance from Chancellor Kurz.

© Georg Hochmuth / APA / dpa

The timing is extremely bad for the Greens, the government presented a comprehensive eco-social tax reform just a few days ago.

Even if not drastic enough from the point of view of many climate experts, this reform is one of the Greens' very big projects.

So you basically want to govern and have a say in decisions.

In addition to climate policy, the party also campaigned primarily as an anti-corruption party two years ago.

“Who pays creates.

I love that ”, and similar published chats from short circles, however, show a picture of the ÖVP, in which the Greens have to take a new path.

The only question is which one?

Government crisis in Austria: what's next?

Anyone who has followed the internal political situation in the Alpine state over the past few months knows that court proceedings and investigations are by no means a reason for resignation or even new elections. Even now, most of the parties are against an early vote by the population. The leader of the liberal opposition party NEOS, Beate Meinl-Reisinger, clearly insinuated that Kurz was “incapable of office”, but decidedly rejected new elections. After all, the entire National Council is not suspected of corruption.

The ÖVP stands united behind its party leader.

A turquoise-green government without Sebastian Kurz as the lead stallion is therefore not likely.

If the Greens want to completely blow up the government, they first have to look for a majority.

They can only do that if, in addition to the Social Democrats (SPÖ) and NEOS, they also get the right-wing populist FPÖ, including the controversial former Interior Minister Herbert Kickl, on board.

ÖVP Agriculture Minister Elisabeth Köstinger warned in a statement on Thursday (October 7th): "Anyone who breaks a very well functioning federal government today will wake up the next day with a Herbert Kickl in the federal government." Köstinger sat until the Ibiza affair in May 2019 next to Kickl on the Ministerbank.

Opposition expresses distrust

The opposition has already announced a vote of no confidence in the Chancellor. For this to be successful, however, it also needs the approval of at least six of the 26 Green MPs. In any case, it is certain that the National Council will meet for a special session on Tuesday (October 12). What could come of this, ORF journalist Armin Wolf outlined on Thursday on Twitter: Should Kurz be voted out of office as Chancellor by the National Council, all ÖVP ministers would resign. Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen could then possibly ask them to stay in office for a few more days and to appoint a minister as the temporary chancellor. However, a new government only has a chance with mandates from the Greens, SPÖ, NEOS and FPÖ. Political projects, as Wolf estimates it,would be difficult to implement in such a case.

On Friday (October 8th), Federal President Van der Bellen will have finished talks with all party leaders.

The whole of Austria is then looking forward to Tuesday (October 12) and the decision of the Austrian Parliament on what the future top government of Austria should look like.

However, one thing is already certain: Austria will be preoccupied with this political state of emergency for many years to come.