The European Right Takes a Hit in Austria
Austria’s nationalist vice chancellor won’t be the only victim of an Ibiza sting operation against him.
Austrian Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache blames it on the vodka — and foreign intelligence services.
Photographer: Michael Gruber/Getty Images
A curious sting operation against the leader of the Austrian far right hasn’t just plunged the central European nation into a political crisis: Days before the European Parliament election, it has wreaked havoc on the continent’s nationalist right.
On Friday, Der Spiegel and Sueddeutsche Zeitung published reports about a six-hour conversation Heinz-Christian Strache, leader of Austria’s Freedom Party (FPOe), and his close ally Johann Gudenus had on the Spanish resort island of Ibiza with a woman posing as the niece of Russian oil and gas billionaire Igor Makarov. Every word was recorded, and the Austrian politicians can be seen on video discussing the possibility of the Russian woman investing in Austria’s dominant tabloid newspaper to push a far-right agenda, options for an illegal donation to FPOe through a special purpose vehicle — and a quid pro quo in the form of Austrian government contracts for the Russian. The whole thing was a set-up, and whoever organized it declined to disclose their motives when they shared the video with the two German publications.