Austrian Chancellor Kurz addresses far-right Freedom Party scandal

Austrian Chancellor Kurz addresses far-right Freedom Party scandal

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz held a news conference after announcing over the weekend that the country will hold elections in early September following the resignation of the vice-chancellor, Euronews reports.

Heinz-Christian Strache, the country’s now former vice-chancellor and leader of the far-right Freedom Party, resigned on Saturday after German newspapers published footage of him appearing to offer public contracts to a Russian backer.

At the news conference, the Austrian chancellor touted his government’s achievements and said he wanted to continue the legacy without scandals.

He said he asked the opposition parties to contribute to stability, especially in the next months.

In the next week, the country will have a discussion about the future of the European Union. He said he would work to make sure the centre parties would be strengthened.

The scandal has led to speculation about the future of the coalition between Kurz’s centre-right People’s Party and the FPÖ.

Kurz said on Sunday that he did not think the FPÖ was willing to change, and he called for snap elections.