VIENNA (AFP) – Austria’s top diplomat Alexander Schallenberg is expected to take over the chancellorship, a day after Sebastian Kurz announced he would step down amid graft claims, capping the spectacular rise of one of Europe’s youngest political leaders.
The 35-year-old conservative announced late Saturday that he was stepping down as chancellor, bowing to pressure to resign after he was implicated in a corruption scandal.
Saying he wanted to “make space to prevent chaos,” Kurz -- who has headed two governments over the last four years -- has suggested foreign minister Schallenberg to take over the chancellery.
The 52-year-old diplomat was to meet President Alexander Van der Bellen following a meeting with Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler of the Greens.
Schallenberg has yet to speak publicly, but Kogler indicated late Saturday that his party would support him to keep the conservative-Greens coalition in government.
Pressure on Kurz to resign, including from the Greens, started after prosecutors on Wednesday raided several locations linked to his People’s Party (OeVP).
They announced that Kurz and nine other individuals were under investigation over claims that government money was used between 2016 and 2018 in a corrupt deal to ensure positive media coverage.
Kurz has denied any wrongdoing, reiterating on Saturday that allegations against him were “false” and that he would seek to clear up the matter while he continues as party leader and as a lawmaker in parliament.
The opposition has blasted the continued conservative-Greens coalition given the graft investigation, with Social Democrats (SPOe) leader Pamela Rendi-Wagner saying even on the back benches Kurz would remain a “shadow chancellor”.
Commentaries in media on Sunday echoed those words, saying it remained to be seen if Schallenberg could step up to lead the country in his own way.