Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is ruling out working with his far-right deputy Heinz-Christian Strache after two German newspapers published footage purportedly showing him discussing state contracts with a potential Russian backer in return for political support.
Kurz has ruled out further cooperation with Strache, dpa has learned. It is unclear whether the decision will bring about the break-up of the governing coalition between Kurz's conservative People's Party (ÖVP) and Strache's far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ), or merely prompt Strache's resignation as vice chancellor.
Kurz met with Strache at 11 a.m. (0900 GMT) after a crisis meeting with senior figures in the government on Friday night, news agency APA said citing sources. Kurz was due to make a statement later on Saturday. Strache will also make a statement at 1000 GMT, the FPÖ said without providing further detail. A spokesman for Strache could not be reached by Reuters for comment on the threat to the coalition, which has blown up just a week before Austria votes in elections for the European Parliament.
The Freedom Party is preparing for Transport Minister Norbert Hofer to replace Strache as vice chancellor, APA news agency said, citing party sources. The 48-old engineer ran for president in 2016 and only narrowly lost. The Kurier newspaper, without citing its sources, said Kurz preferred to call a fresh election rather than continue to govern with a partner whose image had been tarnished by the affair.
Kurz's party still leads opinion polls but far short of a majority. The only other party with enough seats for a majority is the Social Democrats, with which Kurz, an immigration hardliner, has difficult relations.
Strache has headed the Freedom Party since 2005, bringing it back to mainstream electoral success not seen since it was led by the charismatic Joerg Haider. It secured 26 percent of the vote in 2017's parliamentary election.
The daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung and the weekly Der Spiegel published extracts of covert video allegedly showing Strache meeting a woman claiming to be interested in investing large amounts of money in the Alpine nation. The two papers said the meeting, which took place in Spain's Ibiza in July 2017, months before Austria's parliamentary election, was clearly a trap laid to compromise the two politicians, though it's unclear who was behind it.
In the video, the source of which the newspapers declined to reveal, Strache and party colleague Johann Gudenus are heard telling the unnamed woman she can expect lucrative construction contracts if she buys an Austrian newspaper and supports the Freedom Party. Sueddeutsche Zeitung and Der Spiegel said the footage was authenticated by a forensic video expert. It couldn't be immediately independently verified by The Associated Press and Reuters, and the German newspapers did not say how they obtained it.
"It's time to end this nightmare," the head of Austria's Social Democratic Party, Pamela Rendi-Wagner, said after the reports. "Strache and Gudenus must step down today."
She urged Kurz to take responsibility for his government allies: "He chose to enter into this coalition."
Werner Kogler, a leading member of Austria's opposition Green Party, also urged Kurz to dissolve the coalition "or he himself will become untenable."
According to the two newspapers, the video spanned some six hours of drink-fueled conversation in a villa on the Spanish island of Ibiza between the Austrian politicians and a woman claiming to be the niece of a prominent Russian businessman. Aside from discussing possible investments in Austria, including the purchase of influential tabloid newspaper Kronen Zeitung, Strache also appears to suggest ways of funneling money to his party via an unconnected foundation to circumvent Austrian rules on political donations.
"If she takes over the Kronen Zeitung three weeks before the election and get us into first place, then we can talk about everything," Der Spiegel quoted Strache as saying in the video.
Strache held out the prospect of awarding her public contracts in road construction if she helped the FPÖ succeed, according to the video.
He appeared to offer to direct inflated construction contracts to a company in exchange for support for his party, though he also said he wanted everything to be done legally.
Vienna prosecutors said they would study the reports and decide whether there was sufficient cause to open an investigation, a spokeswoman for the prosecutors said.
There is no indication that any of the discussed Russian investments took place before or after the parliamentary elections, in which the Freedom Party came third with almost 26% of the vote.
Neither Strache nor Gudenus could immediately be reached for comment. Spiegel reported that the men confirmed taking part in a private meeting on Ibiza, but denied any wrongdoing.
The FPÖ's General Secretary, Christian Hafenecker, said the party's lawyers were evaluating the material. Neither Strache nor the Freedom Party ever received or granted any benefits from the persons concerned, Hafenecker said in a statement.
"Since the video was obviously recorded illegally, we are also preparing appropriate legal steps."
Kurz has distanced himself from the far right to protect his image when lesser scandals have emerged.
"This is huge. This has to be the end of Heinz-Christian Strache," political analyst Thomas Hofer said, adding that even a snap election was possible.
Vienna prosecutors said they would study the reports and decide whether there was sufficient cause to open an investigation, a spokeswoman for the prosecutors said.
"The FPÖ is finished," ran the headline in the tabloid Kronen Zeitung, which featured in the video since the woman said the oligarch wanted to buy a stake.
