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‘Unimaginable’ for Kurz to continue as Austria’s leader if convicted, says Vice Chancellor

The future of Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz in office would be "unimaginable" if he were convicted of corruption, the Vice Chancellor and leader of the Greens Werner Kogler said on Saturday.

Published: 6 June 2021 14:30 CEST
'Unimaginable' for Kurz to continue as Austria's leader if convicted, says Vice Chancellor
(Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP)

Public prosecutors are investigating Austria’s Chancellor Sebastian Kurz for allegedly making false statements during a parliamentary inquiry.

When asked about the future of Austria’s leader in relation to the ongoing inquiry, Kogler told ORF radio, “A convicted Chancellor is in fact unimaginable.”

Kurz said in May that he told the truth and would not step down as Chancellor, saying, “I always answered all (the committee’s) questions truthfully.”

READ ALSO: Alleged mastermind in Austria’s ‘Ibiza-gate’ video arrested in Berlin

The Constitutional Court (VfGH) has ordered Kurz to hand over additional email evidence to the inquiry. In an interview with the ZiB2 programme, the Chancellor denied the charges and said, “Of course I will not resign”.

But Kogler’s comments put that in doubt, suggesting that the coalition between the Greens and Kurz’s conservatives could be at risk.

The Vice Chancellor said it’s necessary to wait for the outcome, whether Kurz is charged or not and then follow the case brought against him.

But if there was a conviction, he said, “Then we are on a different level in terms of assessing whether someone is fit for office.”

sebastian-kurz-austria

(Photo by Peter Kneffel / POOL / AFP)

“It is hard to imagine that Austria can afford to have a convicted head of government.”

The investigation comes after the opposition Social Democrats (SPOe) and NEOS parties accused Kurz of not telling the truth in front of the committee of MPs, who are investigating the fallout from the so-called “Ibizagate” scandal that brought down Kurz’s previous government in 2019.

READ MORE: Ex-leader of Austrian far right charged with corruption

A secret video, filmed in a luxury Ibiza villa, showed Kurz’s then vice-chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache from the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) seemingly offering public contracts to a woman believed to be a Russian oligarch’s niece in return for financial and political support.

It was published by two German media outlets, Der Spiegel and Süddeutsche Zeitung.

In May 2019, Kurz’s coalition collapsed when Strache was forced to resign as leader of the far-right Freedom Party and as Austrian vice chancellor.

Kurz returned to office in early 2020 in a coalition with the Greens.

Austria’s leader and members of his party have said the case against him is politically motivated and have cast doubt on the anti-corruption prosecutors’ office in charge of the case.

The parliamentary committee looking into the scandal has since broadened its focus to include other accusations of wrongdoing, including by politicians from Kurz’s People’s Party (OeVP).

The latest investigation comes as the OeVP’s party financing and other practices have increasingly come under the spotlight.

In February OeVP Finance Minister Gernot Bluemel’s home was raided as part of a separate probe into possible party financing offences.

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MIGRANT CRISIS

How a change in the profile of asylum seekers is impacting Austria

The number of asylum applications has dropped in Austria, but changes in the profile of those arriving are creating new demands and new policies.

Published: 22 April 2024 16:05 CEST
How a change in the profile of asylum seekers is impacting Austria

Asylum policy is a controversial topic in Austria, especially in an election year. The far-right has been pushing its anti-immigration agenda to gather support ahead of federal elections later this year.

While the sheer number of refugees can shape an election, differences in who those refugees are and where they come from also create challenges and demands for government action.

The profile of those seeking asylum in Austria has changed compared to recent years.

In the first quarter of 2024, almost a third of asylum applications came from children between the ages of zero and seven, as Austrian media has reported.

Around 53 percent of applicants are minors, and the proportion of women seeking asylum has also risen significantly. However, the overall number of asylum applications during the period fell by 32 percent compared to the same period the year before. 

Whereas 2023 most asylum applications in Austria were from males (only around 24 percent of applications were submitted by women), the country is now experiencing the “family reunification” phenomenon. In other words the wifes and children are following to seek protection.

Asylum applicants are still mostly from Syria and Afghanistan – two nationalities with a high chance of obtaining protection in Austria. Only 30 percent of applications from Syrians were rejected, whereas for Afghans 39 percent were refused.

READ ALSO: Border centres and ‘safe’ states: The EU’s major asylum changes explained

What does the change in profile mean for Austria?

One immediate consequence of the influx of children has already been seen in Vienna, the destination of most refugees: the school system is overwhelmed with the new arrivals, as several Austrian newspapers have reported in the last few weeks.

“This is putting such a strain on the system that high-quality teaching is hardly possible any more,” Thomas Krebs, a union representative, told Kurier. According to the report, around 300 children will arrive in Vienna every month, resulting in a need for 140 classes by the end of the school year. 

The Austrian capital was already overwhelmed by a shortage of teachers and an overflow of schoolchildren—particularly since the war in Ukraine, when 4,000 children were integrated into Vienna’s schools from February 2022.

The kids coming from Syria also need more support than merely German classes: “The Syrian children who come to us from refugee camps are a particular challenge for the system. Many are traumatised and often not even literate in their own language,” Krebs said.

He added that children need to spend more time in kindergarten—to learn “the basics, not just the language.” The education expert also believes it’s necessary to invest more in extracurricular activities, where young people can learn German, acquire behavioural skills that are important for school, and learn how to spend their free time meaningfully.

READ ALSO: What’s the reason behind the drop in Austrian asylum seeker claims?

What is Vienna doing?

Vienna’s Department of Education points out that new teachers are being recruited. In the current academic year, 2,400 teachers have been hired, Kurier reported.

Director of Education Heinrich Himmer said: “We support pupils and face the challenges together so that learning and living together work well. I would like to thank everyone who works so hard in Vienna’s schools. However, the responsibility for integration is an all-Austrian one, where solutions exist at the federal level.”

How does family reunification work?

There is a special process for granting family reunification rights for family members of refugees in Austria. 

According to information from the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum, if a foreigner has been granted asylum status in Austria, family members can apply for an entry permit at an Austrian representation authority abroad within three months of this status being granted.

If this is granted, they can travel to Austria to apply for asylum in the family procedure and receive the same protection status as the reference person. If the application is only submitted after three months, they must also provide proof of adequate accommodation, health insurance, and income.

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