How a Secret Video Felled Austria’s Wunderkind Leader

When he took power in 2017, Austria’s Sebastian Kurz became the European Union’s youngest head of government. Now he’s also the shortest-serving chancellor in Austrian history and the first to be thrown out of office since the country was reconstituted after World War II. The rise and fall of Kurz is intertwined with Austria’s right-wing nationalists, whom the 32-year-old invited into his administration. What began as an attempt to show that conservatives can work with nationalists has turned into a cautionary tale for other EU leaders flirting with parties on the fringes of politics.

Austria’s parliament ousted Kurz on May 27 in a no-confidence motion brought by the opposition Social Democrats. Their move to dismiss the chancellor was supported by the nationalist Freedom Party, which only 10 days earlier had been part of the coalition government formed by Kurz. It was the appearance of a video on May 17 that set events in motion.