With his resignation, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz wants to end the government crisis in Austria.
But many suspect power-political ulterior motives in his plans.
Vienna - Recently the pressure, also within the party, had become too great.
Now Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has announced his resignation.
He leaves his office to Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg - but the 35-year-old Kurz will probably remain the central figure of the ÖVP.
Because Kurz not only remains its chairman (party chairman).
He will also be their club chairman (group leader in parliament).
“I will return to parliament as a party chairman and as a club chairman and try to do my part there.
Above all, however, I will of course also use the opportunity to refute and refute the allegations that have been made against me, ”Kurz announced on Saturday evening at his resignation PK.
"In the position of club bosses he dominated the pace of the government," analyzes the portal
oe24.at
.
Kurz's predecessor is August Wöginger.
As the head of the ÖVP, Kurz has far-reaching powers: he alone can determine the government team, the lists of candidates in parliamentary elections and the political line of the ÖVP.
Criticism of Kurz's change of office: "Escape to parliamentary immunity"
The opposition is not satisfied with this castling.
This means that the “short system” will be preserved, criticized SPÖ leader Pamela Rendi-Wagner.
"Sebastian Kurz fled to parliamentary immunity," said the head of the right-wing FPÖ, Herbert Kickl.
The head of the liberal Neos, Beate Meinl-Reisinger, said that Kurz would continue to keep all the strings in hand.
Austria: Schallenberg on migration of hardliners similar to Kurz
And Kurz's designated successor?
The 52-year-old Schallenberg has been jointly responsible for Austria's foreign policy * in top positions for years.
The multilingual, internationally experienced diplomat is just as tough on migration issues as Kurz.
Schallenberg and Kogler have agreed a one-on-one conversation for Sunday.
The Austrian Greens ruling with the ÖVP had already held talks with opposition parties about a multi-party government without ÖVP - in the event that the Chancellor does not resign.
Corruption allegations: Sebastian Kurz protests his innocence
The government crisis was triggered by investigations by the Economic and Corruption Prosecutor's Office.
Close colleagues of the Chancellor are suspected of having bought well-meaning reporting in a media company in order to pave the way for Kurz to the party leadership and the Federal Chancellery from 2016.
Kurz is also listed as a suspect.
In a seven-minute speech on Saturday, the Chancellor again emphasized his innocence.
He gave up his office out of responsibility for the country.
(AFP / dpa / frs) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
