Words: Tom Ward
Scandal, rumour and outrage abound this week in the Austrian People’s Party, (OVP) after its leader, once heralded as a saviour of Austrian politics, has stepped down following accusations of rank corruption.
“Sebastian Kurz finally made it to the Hofburg this week – just not as he planned. Austria’s well-groomed political wunderkind didn’t arrive in triumph at Vienna’s fabled palace, like the kaiser his critics accuse him of aping. Instead he arrived on Thursday to be sworn in as an MP under a cloud of criminal claims that, five days previously, cost him his chancellorship,” wrote Derek Scally in the Irish Times.
Kurz, 35, quit as chancellor after police raided his offices and prosecutors placed him under investigation on charges or bribery, breach of trust and corruption centred around allegedly paying a tabloid newspaper for favourable coverage.
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