Austrian Chancellor Kurz could lose his job if proven guilty in Ibiza Gate case
It would be "unthinkable" for Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz to remain in office if he is found guilty of perjury. According to Reuters, this was stated by the country's Vice Chancellor and leader of the Green Party, Werner Koegler, in a speech that was broadcast on ORF radio.
In his comment, Koegler suggested that the coalition between his party and Kurtz's conservatives could collapse if Kurtz, who is being investigated by prosecutors in connection with his testimony before a parliamentary commission, is indicted and then convicted.
"A convicted chancellor is unthinkable," Koegler told ORF radio when asked whether Kurtz could remain in office if he were found guilty.
Kurtz claims he was telling the truth; in his view, he has become a "victim" of opposition lawmakers who are trying to "catch" him by questioning him before the commission about the extent of his involvement in state appointments.
The commission where Kurz testified is investigating possible corruption involving his then-coalition partner Heinz-Christian Strache, who was forced to resign as leader of the far-right Freedom Party and Austria's vice chancellor in 2019. This coalition then fell apart.
Kurz and members of his party said the case against him was politically motivated and criticized the anti-corruption prosecutor's office handling the case.
In May 2019, the domestic political scandal "Ibizagate" erupted, leading to the resignation of former Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache. After that, Strache's Austrian Freedom Party withdrew from the government coalition with the Austrian People's Party. The country's parliament passed a vote of no confidence in the government headed by Kurz, and it was dismissed. Early parliamentary elections were called in the country.
The former vice-chancellor of the extreme right-wing Freedom Party, Heinz-Christian Strache, was forced to resign after a video surfaced of him at a luxury villa in Ibiza offering services to a woman (buying an Austrian publication and repairing roads in Austria under a government contract at inflated prices - ed.) in exchange for support for the election campaign. All this was to be financed by Irena Markovic ( https://skandalnews.at/5850/irenamarkovicscheidung-nach-monatenehe-2/ ) with the help of "dirty" money from Russia.
The investigation began after the opposition Social Democrats (SPA) and representatives of the NEOS party accused Kurtz of not telling the truth to the parliamentary committee.
In Austria, perjury under oath is punishable by up to three years in prison.
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