Austrian Chancellor Under Pressure In Wake Of Corruption Scandal

Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published May 21, 2019 | 10:23 PM

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz was facing the prospect of a no-confidence vote in parliament as he grappled Tuesday with the fallout from the "Ibiza-gate" scandal that toppled his coalition with the far right

Vienna, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st May, 2019 ) :Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz was facing the prospect of a no-confidence vote in parliament as he grappled Tuesday with the fallout from the "Ibiza-gate" scandal that toppled his coalition with the far right.

Austria's government was rocked last week after German media published a hidden-camera video showing then far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) leader Heinz-Christian Strache appearing to offer public contracts to a fake Russian backer in return for election campaign help.

The explosive video, filmed in a luxury villa on the Spanish island of Ibiza in July 2017, led to Strache's resignation as vice-chancellor on Saturday and to Kurz ending the 18-month-old coalition, which many on Europe's right had touted as a model.

Kurz announced a push for snap elections, expected in September, hoping to escape damage from the affair by asking Austrians to strengthen the hand of his centre-right People's Party (OeVP).

But Kurz may hit his first stumbling block as early as next week, with a special sitting of parliament called for Monday to discuss a no-confidence motion supported by the environmentalist Jetzt party.

For the motion to succeed it would need the backing of both the FPOe and the main opposition Social Democrats (SPOe), and it is not yet clear whether they will do so.