Austria’s Nationalist Vice Chancellor Quits Over Video Scandal
- Unclear if chancellor will accept new team from junior partner
- Nationalist vice chancellor ensnared in apparent sting video
Heinz-Christian Strache
Photographer: Sean Gallup/Getty Images EuropeThis article is for subscribers only.
Austria may be headed for snap elections after the center-right government was thrown into crisis over a video showing its deputy leader promising government contracts in return for campaign funding.
The ball is in the court of conservative Chancellor Sebastian Kurz after Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache, from the nationalist Freedom Party, stepped down on Saturday, calling his own actions “dumb” and “embarrassing.” Kurz is set to give a statement at 7:45 p.m. in Vienna, and Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen, who’s in charge of appointing and dismissing governments, will speak at 8:35 p.m.