Austrian president calls for September snap elections

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Europe

00:27

Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen said Sunday he wanted snap elections to take place in September after the government collapsed over a corruption scandal.

"My preference is for early elections in September, if possible the beginning of September," he told journalists after holding talks with Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. The legal procedures to fix the date will now have to take place over the coming weeks, with Van der Bellen set to hold further talks with other party leaders.

Austria's far-right Vice Chancellor Strache steps down

The announcement came after a dramatic 48 hours in Austrian politics which saw far-right Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache resign in disgrace following explosive revelations in a hidden camera sting.

On Friday, two German newspapers published footage showing Strache openly discussing the possibility of awarding public contracts in return for campaign help for his far-right Freedom Party (FPOe).

Speaking alongside Van der Bellen, Kurz said early elections had not been "desirable, but were necessary," and that he would also try to establish who exactly was behind the recording of the footage.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz gives a press conference in Vienna on May 18, 2019. /VCG Photo

Neither Van der Bellen nor Kurz addressed the question of who would replace Strache in the run-up to elections and whether senior FPOe politicians – including controversial Interior Minister Herbert Kickl –would be allowed to stay in post.

Kurz formed a coalition with Strache's Freedom Party a year and a half ago. He pulled the plug on the coalition, saying the apparent video sting was the last straw in the relationship.

The downfall of the Austrian coalition comes just a week before elections to the European Parliament and is a blow to one of the most successful of the anti-immigrant, nationalist parties that have surged across the continent in recent years. The FPOe is a major part of a new nationalist grouping that aims to score record gains in the European vote.

(With input from AFP)

(Cover: Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen speaks during a news conference, in Vienna, Austria, May 19, 2019. /Reuters Photo)

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