Five days of Austria's government collapse

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Europe

A secret video in an Ibiza villa, dodgy deals with a mysterious Russian woman, ministers resigning and getting sacked, and new elections being called: almost overnight, Austria's government has disintegrated, with the far-right quitting the coalition, engulfed in a political scandal of epic proportions.

Here is a recap of developments.

The night before

It all began on May 17. As most Austrians enjoyed the start of their weekend, the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) and the weekly Der Spiegel dropped a bombshell: a video from 2017 showed far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) leader Heinz-Christian Strache and his right-hand man Johann Gudenus promising state contracts to the alleged niece of a Russian oligarch, in exchange for helping them win upcoming elections. They also offered a stake in Austria's influential tabloid Kronen Zeitung and hinted at illegal campaign financing.

CGTN screenshot of Sueddeutsche Zeitung's Twitter account showing extracts from a secret video made in July 2017 in Ibiza, Spain, featuring Austrian far-right FPOe leader Heinz-Christian Strache (C) and his right-hand man Johann Gudenus (L).

The secret video was made during a booze-fueled evening in a villa on the Spanish island of Ibiza in July 2017. Five months later, the FPOe would enter a coalition government with the conservative People's Party (OeVP) and Strache would become vice-chancellor.

"Can Austria's vice-chancellor be bought?" Der Spiegel summarized in its headline.

Who made the video and why was unclear, but the footage was verified by SZ and Spiegel and found to be authentic.

Saturday

The video extracts published by SZ and Spiegel – the full six-hour video has not been released to the public – created a storm.

Opposition parties expressed outrage and called for new elections. Thousands of protesters converged on the chancellery in Vienna demanding that heads roll.

People protest in front of the Chancellery in Vienna, Austria, May 18, 2019. /Reuters Photo

They did not have to wait long. At noon, Strache held a press conference and made the shock announcement: he and Gudenus were resigning from all their posts both in the government and their party.

Chancellor Sebastian Kurz reportedly tried to salvage the coalition but eventually concluded: "Enough is enough". By the evening, he was announcing early elections "at the earliest possible date."

President Alexander Van der Bellen, in a separate address, slammed Strache and Gudenus's "shameful" behavior and called for a "complete and unsparing" investigation into the revelations.

A series of 'isolated incidents'

The Ibiza affair – which Strache described as a sting operation and just a "drunken affair" – was the latest in a long string of FPOe scandals. The anti-immigrant, anti-Islam party has had to repeatedly distance itself from officials and party members over racist poems and links to the Identitarian movement and neo-Nazi groups, claiming these were isolated incidents.

Kurz's coalition also faced criticism from the beginning for its right-wing stance, including on immigration. On Saturday, the chancellor and OeVP leader defended his government's work over the past 17 months. "For these achievements, I was prepared to put up with a lot," but repeated FPOe controversies were now damaging reform efforts, he said.

Sunday

After a meeting with Kurz, where the two discussed the next steps to take, Van der Bellen called for early elections in September.

Monday

Negotiations continued behind the scenes. Rumors circulating since Saturday that Kurz wanted Interior Minister Herbert Kickl, the FPOe's master strategist, out of his cabinet were confirmed.

Austrian Interior Minister Herbert Kickl attends a press conference in Vienna, Austria, July 3, 2018. /VCG Photo

Although not present at the Ibiza meeting, Kickl was the FPOe's general-secretary in 2017 and would have been responsible for any irregular financial dealings mentioned in the secret video.

Kickl had also failed to demonstrate any awareness of the seriousness of the situation, Kurz told reporters, adding he would ask for him to be sacked.

The FPOe had already warned on Sunday that all its ministers would quit if Kickl was fired.

The stage was set for a collapse of the coalition.

Tuesday

After new talks with Kurz, Van der Bellen finally announced what had been expected for days: Interior Minister Kickl had been sacked – a first in Austria – and all FPOe ministers were resigning.

After 17 months, Austria's conservative-far-right coalition government was officially over.

Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen (L) and Chancellor Sebastian Kurz address a press conference in Vienna, Austria, May 21, 2019. /VCG Photo

Kurz promised by the end of the day to hand the president a list of names to fill the newly vacant ministries, including key ones like interior and defense, on an interim basis until early elections.

Van der Bellen called for "irreproachable experts."

"We are entering new territory these days," he noted.

Wednesday

The new interim cabinet ministers were announced and quickly sworn in on Wednesday.

Throughout the crisis, the president and chancellor have emphasized the need for stability, ensuring the government continues to function, and rebuilding trust in politicians.

New Interior Minister Eckart Ratz is a former president of the supreme court; the new defense minister, Johann Luif, is deputy chief of the army general staff; the head of Austrian air traffic control Valerie Hackl takes over as infrastructure minister; while Walter Poeltner, a top official in the social affairs ministry has been elevated to the minister's post.

Finance Minister Hartwig Loeger replaces Strache as vice-chancellor.

What's next?

Chancellor Kurz is not out of the woods yet. Although he has called for business as usual, he could face a no-confidence motion on Monday. The prospect was first hinted at by the FPOe, then denied and picked up instead by another smaller opposition party. In the event that Kurz loses such a vote, the entire government might be replaced, with Van der Bellen needing to appoint a new person to lead it.

Meanwhile, questions remain about the source of the Ibiza video and what else might be contained in the six hours of footage. In an interview on Tuesday, Gudenus said that more damaging revelations could still come out.

With days to go before EU elections on Sunday, it also remains to be seen what kind of impact the FPOe's actions and Austria's government crisis will have. Ahead of the scandal, European far-right and populist parties had been widely predicted to make gains.