Austrian Chancellor under investigation for “false declaration”

is a controversy that is causing a stir in Austria. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is targeted for the first time by an investigation by the prosecution on suspicion of “false declaration” before a parliamentary committee responsible for examining several corruption cases. “I would like to inform you that […] the financial prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation concerning myself and my chief of staff ”Bernhard Bonelli, announced this Wednesday, May 12, in front of journalists in Vienna, the 34-year-old elected official, who said“ to expect ” an indictment.

“I have always answered all questions honestly,” added the curator, ruling out any resignation at this stage. The procedure was initiated following accusations by the social democratic and liberal opposition. “There were several reports” and “the examination carried out revealed the existence of suspicions”, explained the prosecution, contacted by Agence France-Presse, which therefore “opened a preliminary investigation to study the allegations” .

For this alleged offense, Sebastian Kurz faces three years in prison. Opposition leaders have called on the chancellor, accused of undermining the rule of law, to resign on charges. Justice suspects Sebastian Kurz of having lied last year in front of deputies who sought to know if he had intervened in the appointment of a relative, Thomas Schmid, at the head of a public holding company. The chancellor, who was speaking under oath, then denied any intervention. But in recent months, text messages between the two men, suggesting that they had discussed it together, have leaked to the press.

The political earthquake of the “Ibizagate” resurfaces

In a message accompanied by affectionate emojis, the Chancellor wrote: “You get whatever you want. Thomas Schmid then replied: “I am so happy. I love my chancellor. This case comes when the Minister of Finance, another close to Sébastian Kurz, is already implicated in another case. Gernot Blümel is suspected of being involved in the covert funding of the conservative ÖVP party by global gambling giant Novomatic. His home had been searched in February.

Sebastian Kurz then publicly criticized this search, which sparked an outcry among magistrates, worried about their independence in this member country of the European Union, which has 8.9 million inhabitants. He said that there had been “so many professional misconduct” within the prosecution that it was necessary “to make changes urgently”. These cases follow the political earthquake of the “Ibizagate”.

In May 2019, during Sebastian Kurz’s first term, in coalition with the far right, a video showing Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache negotiating secret funding with a Russian oligarch was made public. The broadcast of this video, shot in 2017, brought down the cabinet and triggered several investigations, during which suspicions of corruption targeting the conservatives had emerged. Since January 2020, Sebastian Kurz has led an unprecedented coalition with the Greens, who for the first time obtained the Ministry of Justice, previously occupied by the Conservatives for twelve years.