Austria’s ex-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz quits politics

 

Austria’s ex-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz quits politics

 

The 35-year-old said he wants to spend more time with his son, who was born last month.

 

BY LAURENZ GEHRKE

December 2, 2021 10:58 am

https://www.politico.eu/article/austria-ex-chancellor-sebastian-kurz-quit-politics/

 

Former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is quitting politics, he announced Thursday.

 

The 35-year-old leader of the conservative People’s Party (ÖVP) served as chancellor from 2017 until 2019 and again from 2020 until 2021. He left the top job earlier this year after becoming mired in a corruption probe. His first term in office ended in similar fashion, following the so-called Ibiza Scandal.

 

“I am extremely grateful for this time, for all the experiences … and I hope very much that I made my contribution to move our beautiful Austria a little bit in the right direction,” Kurz told journalists at a press conference in Vienna.

 

Kurz became a father last month and said this triggered his decision. The former chancellor said he had an epiphany when he saw his son for the first time.

 

“You can look at a baby for hours,” the ex-chancellor said, adding that he was going to pick up his partner and son from the hospital after the press conference. “Above all, I am looking forward to spending time with my child and my family and I will enjoy that very much before I personally dedicate myself to new professional tasks in the new year,” he said.

 

Kurz also touched on the ongoing investigation, saying the mental burden stemming from it was part of the reason for his departure from politics.

 

“In recent months, my daily political life has no longer been a competition of the best ideas, but rather a defense against accusations, allegations, insinuations and proceedings,” he said, adding: “My passion for politics, which I had enormously for 10 years, has certainly become a bit less in this phase.”

 

Kurz conceded that he didn’t always make the right choices. “I am neither a saint nor a criminal — I am a human being with strengths and weaknesses with mistakes and everything else that goes with it,” he said, adding that he would hand over his duties as party leader and other positions in the coming weeks.

 

Kurz was succeeded as chancellor in October by Alexander Schallenberg, and Austrian media reported that Interior Minister Karl Nehammer is poised to take over from him as party leader.

 

A political talent sometimes dubbed “Wunderwuzzi” — whizzkid — in Austria, Kurz rose to international prominence in 2013, when he became foreign minister at the age of 27. He subsequently undertook a large-scale reform of the ÖVP, centered around himself.

 

Reaction to Kurz’s decision has been mostly positive.

 

“I sincerely wish you all the best. With everything that we have seen differently in politics, what ultimately remains is the person and he also deserves thanks for his work!” tweeted Beate Meinl-Reisinger, leader of the NEOS, a liberal opposition party.

 

Vice-Chancellor Werner Kogler of the Greens said he had “respect” for Kurz’s move.