Austrian lawmakers vote Kurz's government out of office

World
Europe

Austrian lawmakers voted conservative Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's government out of office on Monday, passing a motion of no confidence days after it became a caretaker administration in the wake of a video sting scandal.

The motion was backed by lawmakers from the Social Democrats and the far-right Freedom Party, which was in coalition with Kurz until a week ago when its leader became embroiled in the video sting and stepped down. Kurz ended their alliance and led what was effectively a minority government.

Austria's president must now appoint a chancellor to form a government that can garner parliament's support until the next national election, expected to be held in September.

Kurz's People's Party came out on top in Sunday's European parliament election, only a week after a video sting scandal prompted far-right Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache to step down and Kurz to scrap the coalition between their parties.

Austria's Kurz believes no-confidence motion against his govt might succeed

Kurz headed a caretaker government that he hoped to use as a springboard for re-election, presenting himself as more of a victim of the political crisis set off by the video than an enabler of it who brought the far right to power.

But with the next election expected in September, opposition parties say Kurz must share the blame, and they moved in parliament to depose what is effectively a minority government in which FPO ministers were replaced by civil servants.

Head of Freedom Party Norbert Hofer addresses the parliament in Vienna, Austria, May 27, 2019. /Reuters Photo

"The Kurz government has failed," the Social Democrats' (SPO) deputy parliamentary faction head Joerg Leichtfried said in a speech to parliament, minutes before his party submitted the motion. "Kurz gambled away his chances and, Mr Chancellor, you bear full responsibility."

FPO lawmakers earlier unanimously agreed to support the SPO motion, several of those who attended a party meeting told reporters. "Ultimately, it was a decision of the FPO parliament group," said its leader Norbert Hofer.

The two parties have 103 seats combined in the 183-seat lower house of parliament, easily giving them the majority required for the motion to pass.

'Enough is enough': Five days of Austria's government collapse

"To topple the government a few months before an election is something few people in this country can understand," Kurz told lawmakers, presenting himself as a force for stability. "Parliament will have its say on Monday," Kurz said on Facebook prior to the no-confidence votes. "But at the end of the day the people will decide, namely in September."

Despite the scandal, Kurz's People's Party (OVP) won a larger share of support in the European ballot than in Austria's parliamentary election of 2017, while the SPO's share of the vote shrank.

After the no-confidence vote, Austria's president will nominate a new chancellor to put together a caretaker government able to last until the election.

(Cover: Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz leaves after the swearing-in ceremony of the new ministers in Vienna, Austria, May 22, 2019. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): Reuters