'Ibiza affair' topples Austrian government, snap election announced

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz dramatically pulled the plug on his coalition government and announced fresh elections Saturday after an explosive camera sting claimed the scalp of his far-right deputy.

Media reports on Friday alleged Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache promised public contracts in return for campaign help from a backer he met on the island of Ibiza a few months before 2017's parliamentary elections in Austria.

"I have suggested to the president of the republic that new elections be carried out, at the earliest possible date," Kurz said in a televised statement.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (Austrian People's Party) addresses the media during a press conference at the Federal Chancellors Office in Vienna, Austria, Saturday, May 18, 2019. Kurz has called for an early election after the resignation of his vice chancellor spelled an end to his governing coalition. [Photo: AP]

On Friday Germany's Der Spiegel and Sueddeutsche Zeitung published hidden-camera recordings of the sophisticated sting operation at a luxury villa.

"After yesterday's video, I must say quite honestly: Enough is enough," said Kurz, adding that he had been personally insulted in the footage.

"The serious part of this (video) was the attitude towards abuse of power, towards dealing with taxpayers' money, towards the media in this country," he said.

Strache, 49, announced his resignation earlier on Saturday, saying he was the "victim of a targeted political attack" which had used illegal means to entrap him.

Loud cheers erupted at Kurz's announcement among the thousands of demonstrators who had gathered outside the chancellery building in central Vienna over the course of the day to demand the government's resignation.

The "Ibiza affair" scandal appears to have been the last straw for Kurz after a string of controversies over extremist sympathies among officials from Strache's Freedom Party (FPOe).

"Even if I didn't express myself publicly at the time, there were many situations that I found difficult to swallow," Kurz said of his time in government with the FPOe since December 2017.

He said that in meetings on Saturday, FPOe leaders hadn't shown the willingness to make the changes necessary to stay in government.

(Story includes material sourced from AFP.)