Austrian far-right leader resigns over ‘Ibiza affair’

Austrian Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache, a key figure of the European far-right, resigned yesterday after explosive revelations from a hidden camera sting, just days before key EU elections. “I tendered my resignation as vice-chancellor of Austria to Chancellor Kurz, and he accepted this decision,” an emotional Strache said in a televised statement. Media reports emerged on Friday alleging that Strache promised public contracts in return for campaign help from a fake Russian backer he met on the island of Ibiza a few months before 2017’s parliamentary elections in Austria. Germany’s Der Spiegel and Sueddeutsche Zeitung published hidden-camera recordings of the sophisticated sting operation at a luxury villa. On Saturday Strache insisted he was the “victim of a targeted political attack”, which had used illegal means to entrap him, but that he was leaving in order to avoid further damage to the government.

Source: AFP