"An unprecedented case": the Austrian parliament passed a vote of no confidence in the government of Sebastian Kurtz

On Monday, May 27, the National Council (lower house of parliament - RT ) of Austria passed a vote of no confidence in the government headed by Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. The vote was initiated by the opposition Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) against the backdrop of the resignation of Heinz-Christian Strache, who served as vice-chancellor and head of the Austrian Freedom Party, because of a scandalous video of an allegedly "Russian citizen."

Most parliamentarians mistrust the government, as Kurtz claimed responsibility for the government crisis that began in mid-May. The decision, in addition to 52 SPÖ deputies, was supported by seven members of the Now-The Pilz List (JETZT) and 51 deputies of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ), from which Kurtz had previously refused the coalition.

Earlier, the 32-year-old politician spoke in favor of holding early elections as soon as possible. This position was supported by the President of Austria Alexander Van der Bellen, who called for a vote in early September.

A vote of no confidence was preceded by a speech by SPÖ leader Pamela Randy-Wagner. According to her, the chancellor “did not consider it necessary to enter into dialogue with the opposition” to form a transitional government. Kurtz went beyond the “stability that Austria desperately needs”, she explained.

Kurtz expressed surprise that SPÖ representatives decided to put forward a vote of no confidence after the victory of his Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) in the elections to the European Parliament.

"This (the vote of a vote of no confidence. - RT ) no one understands," said Kurtz. “We will definitely not put sticks in the wheels of the next government, but, on the contrary, we will give him maximum support,” he explained.

As the head of the federal state of Tirol, Günther Platter, added, Kurtz “cannot be understood by anyone in the whole of Europe”. He noted that the Austrians had shown tremendous support for the ÖVP in the past elections to the EP. According to preliminary calculations, the Austrian People's Party is leading, gaining 35% of the vote.

Now, Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen must remove from office the entire government headed by the Chancellor, after which he will appoint a new cabinet of ministers whose powers will be in force until the early elections. As the Austrian public broadcaster ORF reports, next week the lower house of parliament will vote for the draft document, according to which the vote will take place in September.

For the first time in the history of modern Austria (that is, since 1945), the chancellor is losing his post through a no-confidence vote. In addition, Kurtz set a new record for the shortest tenure as head of the Austrian government (525 days), overtaking his predecessor, Social Democrat Christian Kern (580 days), who did not hide his joy at what had happened.

“Today’s parliamentary meeting is a classic example of the fact that“ everything in life is repeated twice, ”wrote a politician on Twitter, quoting William Shakespeare.

• Boardroom Austrian Parliament
• © ALEX HALADA

Heinz-Christian Strache also expressed his opinion on the incident. He left all political positions in connection with the publication of a video from 2017, where he allegedly discusses financial assistance for the Austrian Freedom Party in elections with an offer of access to government contracts. . Moreover, the politician himself later said that the girl was a Latvian citizen.

In a post on Facebook after a vote of no confidence in Kurtz’s government, the former head of the Austrian Freedom Party indicated that the Social Democrats deliberately undermined the activities of every government. In support of his words, he cited five such cases that took place in 1995, 2002, 2008, 2017 and 2019.

“What is the purpose? But what about the voter? Who was involved in creating an illegal video from Ibiza and running this dirty campaign? ”Asked Strache.

“An unprecedented case in the modern political history of Austria”

Kurtz responded very promptly to the video scandal and suggested early parliamentary elections to “cleanse” the political field from people who had compromised themselves, said Sergei Fedorov, senior researcher at the Department of Social and Political Studies at the Institute of Europe, RAS. He stressed that Kurtz’s actions were reflected in the support that his party received during the elections to the European Parliament.

“Kurtz held the elections very well, receiving more than 30%. This suggests that his voters support his political line. Only the blind will not notice the connection between the elections in the EP and the publication of compromising materials. Another question is who supplied this information. The fact that this was not an accident is quite understandable. This is an unprecedented case in the modern political history of Austria. We see that no one is immune from such provocations, ”said the expert.

He also believes that in the fall Kurtz will get voter support in early elections. Along with this, Fedorov noted that the scandal surrounding the Strache talks with the “citizen of Russia” is not the first “unpleasant story” in which both Moscow and Vienna appear at the same time.

“Apparently, someone really does not like the independent position of Austria, its support for economic projects, including Nord Stream 2.” I would also remember that this whole story of compromising came after the successful visit of the Austrian president to Moscow and very good, trusting negotiations with Putin. Therefore, I think that there can be no chance here. This is work aimed at spoiling relations between the two countries and compromising the current leadership of the Republic of Austria, ”explained Fedorov in an interview with RT.

In turn, the director of the International Institute of the Newest States, political analyst Alexei Martynov, believes that the matter will not end with the allegedly “Russian” compromising evidence on Strach.

“What does the Russians have to do with, it’s completely incomprehensible. Now there is a sequel, the plot unfolds. Let's see how this thing will end. However, I suppose that the Austrian Freedom Party in the early parliamentary elections will only increase the result after this scandal, ”the source said.