Austria's conservative Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has dissolved his coalition with the far-right Freedom Party after the resignation of vice-chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache amid a corruption scandal.

“Enough is enough,” Kurz told the media, listing a string of other minor scandals involving the Freedom Party, adding that he would recommend to President Alexander Van der Bellen that snap elections be held as quickly as possible.

Vice-chancellor Strache, a key figure of the European far-right, announced his resignation on Saturday following revelations that he had promised public contracts in return for help from a fake Russian backer during his campaign in the 2017 parliamentary elections.

Strache denounced what he called an illegal "targeted political attack", but said he would quit in order to avoid further damage to the government.

Germany's Der Spiegel and Sueddeutsche Zeitung released hidden video footage of a sting operation allegedly filmed at a luxury villa on the Spanish island of Ibiza, months before Austria's 2017's elections.

Strache and his Freedom Party's group leader in parliament, Johann Gudenus, are seen in duscussions with a woman purporting to be the niece of a Russian oligarch, who says she wants control of Austria's largest-circulation tabloid, the Krone Zeitung.

Strache is seen suggesting that new owners could make staff changes at the Krone and use the paper to help his Freedom Party in its election campaign. </s> Attila Kisbenedek, AFP | In this file photo taken on May 6, 2019 Austria's Vice-Chancellor and chairman of the Freedom Party FPOe Heinz-Christian Strache gives a press conference in Budapest.

Austria’s coalition government teetered on the brink of collapse after video footage was published apparently showed Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache discussing state contracts with a potential Russian backer in return for political support.

Senior figures in the Austiran government - a coalition of Sebastian Kurz’s conservatives and Strache’s far-right Freedom Party - held a crisis meeting on Friday night.

Kurz, who has distanced himself from the far right to protect his image when lesser scandals have emerged, was due to make a statement later on Saturday. The opposition called for Strache to resign.

Even for a party used to controversy, this one appeared too big for it or the government to sit out.

“This is huge. This has to be the end of Heinz-Christian Strache,” political analyst Thomas Hofer said, adding that it was unclear whether Strache’s stepping down or a snap election was more likely.

The video was reported on Friday evening by two of Germany’s leading newspapers - weekly Der Spiegel and newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung - purportedly showing a meeting in Ibiza between Strache, another party official and a woman purporting to be the niece of a Russian oligarch.

The newspaper reports also said the video appeared to be a sting operation.

The footage, recorded in July 2017 - months before the election that brought this government to power - showed Strache talking to the woman.

In it, 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.

Strache did not reply to a request for comment. Reuters was not able to verify the authenticity of the footage independently, and the German newspapers did not say how they obtained it.

Strache has headed the 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 video is also a headache for Kurz, whose party is still leading in 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 hard-liner, has difficult relations.

The Freedom Party (FPO) co-chairman, Christian Hafenecker, said the party’s lawyers were evaluating the material.

Neither Strache nor the FPO 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.”

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 FPO 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.

It remains unclear who was behind the recording. </s> Vienna, Austria (CNN) Austria's Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache, from the far right Freedom Party, has resigned over allegations of corruption, just days before key European elections .

Germany's Der Spiegel news magazine and Süddeutsche Zeitung daily newspaper published video on Friday of Strache appearing to offer government contracts to a woman who claimed to be a Russian investor and niece of an oligarch.

During a news conference on Saturday morning, Strache denied doing "anything against the law," and labeled the allegations "a targeted political attack."

However, Strache said he wanted to "apologize to everyone I have disappointed with my behavior." He said he would also step down as head of the Freedom Party, which is part of Austria's ruling coalition with Sebastian Kurz' conservative People's Party.

The coalition is now facing its biggest crisis since it was formed in 2017. Outside the Chancellor's office in Vienna, where Kurz was due to make a statement, more than 5,000 anti-government protesters gathered, calling for fresh elections.

"I'm here's because Strache resigned and the entire FPÖ [Freedom Party] is intolerable," Florian Gantner told CNN. "The Chancellor has to react and the entire government should step down. We need a new election."

The managing director of Austria's Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) blamed Kurz for the scandal.

"He must confess to the Austrians this failure and take full responsibility for this chaos. He has brought Austria into this disastrous situation and put the stability of the country on the line," SPÖ's Thomas Drozda said in a statement.

It is not known who recorded the video or set up the meeting, which allegedly took place on July 24, 2017, on the Spanish island of Ibiza, three months before the Austrian elections.

Der Spiegel and Süddeutsche Zeitung report that the "Russian" woman offered to buy a 50% stake in Austria's Kronen-Zeitung newspaper and ensure it supported the Freedom Party.

Strache admitted to meeting the woman and described it as a "private conversation" in Ibiza. He said he was "drunk" but "no donations have been made to the party" as a result of the meeting.

"It was a typical alcohol-infused macho behavior.... With this I have hurt the most important person in my life, which is my wife," Strache said.

Kurz had accepted his resignation, Strache said. Transport Minister Norbert Hofer, who ran for President in 2016, is expected to take over from him as head of the Freedom Party.

Freedom Party politician Johann Gudenus, who was in the video translating Russian into German for Strache, also resigned on Saturday.

"With this I announce that I will retire from my position as Managing Club Chairman and as member of parliament. I will step back from all my positions within the Freedom Party of Austria," Gudenus said in a statement.

"I want to express my deep regret for the things that happened more than two years ago. I deeply regret having disappointed the trust from voters, party members and co-workers."

The Freedom Party has long been part of Austria's political landscape. Founded by former Nazis in the 1950s, it first entered government 17 years ago, the first far-right party to do so in postwar Europe.

Strache had sought to modernize the party, but accusations of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia continue to linger.

In April, a Freedom Party member and deputy mayor of Hitler's birthplace resigned after writing a "deeply racist" poem comparing migrants to rats.

According to Reuters, the Freedom Party has a cooperation agreement with Putin's United Russia party.

In a 2018 interview with the newspaper Oesterreich, Strache made his position clear.

"It is high time to put an end to these exasperating sanctions and normalize political and economic relations with Russia," he said.

Austria was also one of the few EU countries not to expel Russian diplomats in response to British allegations of Kremlin involvement in the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter in the English city of Salisbury in March 2018. </s> May 18 (UPI) -- Austria's Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache resigned Saturday over corruption allegations after a secret video was leaked, sparking a snap election.

The far-right minister discussed government contracts with a woman who said she was a Russian investor and niece of a Russian oligarch.

Strache allegedly offered the woman government contracts in exchange for campaign support and suggested a potentially illegal donation system for the Freedom Party he leads in the video.

The video was posted Friday in German news outlets.

Strache said he would step down as the leader of the Freedom Party that is part of Austria's ruling coalition with Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's conservative People's Party after the leaked video surfaced.

Kurz accepted his resignation, Strache said. Furthermore, later on Saturday Kurz called for a snap election as a result.

Strache said that he met the woman in Ibiza, Spain. He was embarrassed by his actions in the video, which he blamed on being "drunk" and "macho-posturing" to an "attractive hostess."

"No donations have been made to the party," because of the meeting he said, adding that he has not done "anything against the law."

The allegations were "a targeted political attack," Strache said, but he would still step down, and he owed an apology to those he "disappointed."

Strache said that transport minister Norbert Hofer will step up in his place.

The video was allegedly filmed on July 24, 2017, months before the election that brought him to power.

It's unknown who recorded the video, who set up the meeting and who filmed it. </s> FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The Latest on Austrian politics (all times local):

Austrian vice chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache says he is resigning after two German newspapers published footage of him apparently offering lucrative government contracts to a potential Russian benefactor.

Strache said Saturday in a statement before assembled journalists that he was illegally set up in a "political assassination," but added his behavior in the video was "stupid and a mistake."

The scandal has led to speculation about the future of the governing coalition between Strache's anti-immigration Freedom Party and Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's center-right People's Party.

Austria's vice chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache is expected to make a statement about his political future after two German newspapers published footage of him apparently offering lucrative government contracts to a potential Russian benefactor.

The dpa news agency reported Saturday Strache was expected to address the issue at a news conference at noon local time (1000 GMT) Saturday.

The scandal has led to speculation about the future of the governing coalition between Strache's anti-immigration Freedom Party and Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's center-right People's Party. Neither Strache nor Kurz have commented publicly.

The daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung and the weekly Der Spiegel on Friday published extracts of covert video purportedly showing Strache offering government contracts to an unnamed Russian woman if she were to buy an Austrian newspaper and support his party. </s> Austria's vice chancellor has resigned after German media published a video that purportedly showed him offering government contracts to a woman posing as the niece of a Russian oligarch, in exchange for media coverage and political funding.

Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache, who leads Austria's far-right Freedom Party, announced he would step down on Saturday at a press conference in Vienna. Crowds stood outside the chancellor's office in anticipation of Strache's statement.

He described the incident as a "targeted political assassination."

On Friday, German news magazine Der Spiegel and daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung published the calamitous video. It shows Strache sitting on a couch in a T-shirt, discussing potential deals with a Russian investor.

She proposes to buy a 50% stake in Austria's Kronen-Zeitung newspaper and Strache promises her construction contracts if she helps his political party. The group also discusses how to disguise a donation to the party through an association. Their meeting was said to have lasted six hours.

It's unclear who orchestrated the recording. The publications did not reveal their source but said a forensic video expert had verified the footage.

The video was reportedly filmed in a villa with hidden cameras on the Spanish island of Ibiza in July 2017 — just months before Austria's national election in October. Strache's party received 26% of the vote and 51 seats.

Strache told the German publications that he had done nothing illegal; that he said to the woman that Austrian laws must be followed. He said he never gave her government contracts or received donations from her.

In November 2018, Austrian retail and real estate company SIGNA bought 49% of a German media company that holds Kronen-Zeitung — marking its first investment in media.

Strache chalked the exchange up to "alcohol-induced macho talk" that was "probably trying to impress the attractive hostess," according to Deutsche Welle.

Austria's 32-year-old chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, now faces mounting calls by the opposition to hold new elections. His conservative Austrian People's Party governs the country in coalition with the Freedom Party.

The video scandal threatens to collapse the coalition government and comes a week before European Parliament elections.

In the past, Kurz has distanced himself from the Freedom Party following reports of anti-Semitism and racism. The Freedom Party was founded and first led in the 1950s by Anton Reinthaller, a former Nazi.

In recent years, the Freedom Party has built a relationship with Russia. According to the New York Times:

"Mr. Strache first met Mr. Putin in May 2007. In 2014, at least two Freedom Party members took part as election observers during the Russian referendum after the annexation of Crimea. Then in 2016, just seven months before the meeting in Ibiza took place, Mr. Strache traveled to Moscow to sign a formal cooperation agreement between the Freedom Party and Mr. Putin's United Russia party."

Johann Gudenus, another prominent Freedom Party member, was secretly filmed in the Ibiza villa meeting with Strache. That prompted calls for his resignation.

Strache said he would step down from his party leadership position, with Transport Minister Norbert Hofer to replace him.

He also vowed to take legal steps to address the video. </s> Austria's Vice Chancellor, Heinz-Christian Strache, said Saturday that he is resigning after two German newspapers published footage of him apparently discussing state contracts with a potential Russian backer in return for political support.

Strache said Saturday in a statement before assembled journalists that he was illegally set up in a "political assassination."

"It was dumb, it was irresponsible and it was a mistake," Strache said, fighting back tears as he asked his wife and others to forgive him. He maintained, however, that he had done nothing illegal.

The scandal threatened to bring down the governing coalition between Strache's anti-immigration Freedom Party and Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's center-right People's Party.

The video was reported on Friday by two of neighboring Germany's leading media outlets — weekly Der Spiegel and newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung — purportedly showing a meeting in Ibiza between Strache, another party official and a woman purporting to be the niece of a Russian oligarch.

The two papers said the meeting, which took place months before the election that brought the Alpine nation's coalition government to power, was clearly a trap laid to compromise the two politicians, though it's unclear who was behind it.

In it, Strache appears to tell the woman she can expect lucrative construction contracts if she buys an Austrian newspaper and supports the Freedom Party.

Strache did not reply to a request for comment about the video. NBC News was not able to verify the authenticity of the footage independently, and the German newspapers did not say how they obtained it.

The Freedom Party (FPO) co-chairman, Christian Hafenecker, said on Friday the party's lawyers were evaluating the material.

"Since the video was obviously recorded illegally, we are also preparing appropriate legal steps," he said.

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 FPO 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.

Kurz is expected to make a statement later on Saturday as speculation swirled about whether the damage would be limited to Strache or if Kurz would call a snap election only a year and a half after the coalition was formed.

Kurz has repeatedly distanced himself from the FPO over lesser scandals to protect his popularity.

Strache said he would be replaced by Transport Minister Norbert Hofer, who narrowly lost 2016's presidential election and is more popular than Strache.

"I do not in any circumstances want my wrong behavior to provide a pretext for the government to collapse," Strache said. </s> Austria‘s president on Sunday recommended a new election be held in early September, saying he wanted to restore trust in the government after a video scandal led to the resignation of the vice chancellor.

Chancellor Sebastian Kurz pulled the plug on the coalition and called for a snap election on Saturday after his deputy, Heinz-Christian Strache, the leader of the far-right Freedom Party, quit over a video showed him discussing fixing state contracts in return for favours.

“It is most important that Austrians are given the chance of a new start to rebuild trust in its government,” President Alexander van der Bellen said in a statement at his Hofburg residence in Vienna.

READ MORE: Austrian vice chancellor steps down over video as coalition teeters

“This new beginning should take place quickly, as quickly as the provisions of the Federal Constitution permit, so I plead for elections… in September, if possible at the beginning of September,” the president said.

Strache has described the video sting as a “targeted political assassination” and said it never led to any money changing hands. He insisted the only crime that took place was illegally videotaping a private dinner party.

Van der Bellen and Kurz said at their joint news conference that stability was a main priority for them for the coming months.

Kurz repeated that he saw the snap elections as the only way to solve the crisis. “The new elections were a necessity, not a wish,” he said.

The makeup of a caretaker government remained unclear a day after the 18-month-old coalition of conservatives and the far right collapsed. </s> Austria’s chancellor has called for an early election in the country after his vice chancellor resigned over ‘catastrophic’ hidden camera footage that showed him apparently promising government contracts to a purported Russian investor.

Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache, 49, leader of the far-right, antiimmigrant Freedom Party stepped down after the video was published by two German newspapers.

On Friday, the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung and the weekly Der Spiegel published extracts of the video that allegedly showed Strache offering lucrative contracts to a woman posing as the niece of a Russian oligarch who said she was interested in investing large amounts of money in Austria.

The video was allegedly filmed in 2017, shortly before the election that brought Strache to power with the Freedom Party, the smaller partner in Austria’s ruling government coalition.

Strache described the sting as a ‘targeted political assassination’ that never led to any money changing hands, insisting the only crime that took place was illegally videotaping a private dinner party.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, leader of the coalition government’s People’s Party, has now called for an early election after Syrache’s resignation.

Mr Kurz said he would ask President Alexander Van der Bellen to set a date for a new election ‘as soon as possible’.

At a news conference late on Saturday, Mr Kurz said talks with remaining officials from the Freedom Party showed they were not willing to make the changes he felt necessary to continue the current coalition.

Mr Kurz also said a possible coalition with the centre-left Social Democrats would derail the government’s programme of limiting debt and taxes.

Mr Strache’s resignation was a black eye for the populist and nationalist forces who favour tighter European immigration policies.

It came only a few days before the May 23-26 European elections.

In his resignation statement yesterday, Strache conceded his behaviour in the video was ‘stupid, irresponsible and a mistake’.

In the video, he and party colleague Johann Gudenus are heard telling the unnamed woman she could expect lucrative construction work if she bought Austria’s Kronen Zeitung newspaper and supported the Freedom Party.

The video spanned six hours of drink-fuelled conversation in a villa on the Spanish island of Ibiza between the Austrian politicians and the woman.

Strache said he had been in a state of ‘increasing alcohol intoxication’ and had ‘behaved like a teenager’ in an attempt to ‘impress the attractive host’.

He said he had had no further contact with the woman and she did not donate to his party. He claimed to be a victim of the illegal use of surveillance equipment.

In the video, Mr Strache also appeared to suggest ways of funnelling money to his party via an unconnected foundation to circumvent Austrian rules on political donations.

The justice spokesman for the opposition Social Democratic Party, Hannes Jarolim, has asked prosecutors to look into the matter, the APA news agency reported.

Mr Jarolim reportedly claimed the statements in the video could constitute offences or attempted offences such as misuse of office, bribery and money laundering. </s> Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has ruled out working together with Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache, making Strache's resignation in the wake of a corruption scandal more likely.

The two men are due to meet later on Saturday morning, with the chancellor expected to make a statement at noon, but several news agencies, citing insider sources, have reported that Kurz has already decided against continuing to work with Strache.

Kurz's conservative Austrian People's People's (ÖVP) currently governs Austria in coalition with Strache's far-right FPÖ.

Strache's departure would leave the chancellor with the decision of either dissolving the government and calling new elections, or attempt to maintain his coalition with the FPÖ under a new leader.

Strache was caught on video offering business deals to a woman posing as a Russian oligarch's niece in exchange for her help boosting the FPÖ's news coverage.

The video, reportedly filmed on the Spanish island of Ibiza in 2017 but only disclosed on Friday evening, has triggered a crisis in the Austrian government, with opposition parties already demanding new elections.

In the video, parts of which have been released by Der Spiegel and the Süddeutsche Zeitung, a woman calling herself Alyona Makarova can be heard telling Strache and FPÖ parliamentary group leader Johann Gudenus that she is very wealthy and wants to buy a large block of shares at Austria's largest newspaper, the Kronen Zeitung.

She reportedly claims to be interested in the paper so that she can provide favorable pre-election coverage of the FPÖ. In return, she demands political favors. Strache and Gudenus also describe to her ways in which rich sponsors could donate to the FPÖ via non-profit organizations, so the donations do not become public.

Strache reportedly tells her that the Kronen Zeitung deal could push the FPÖ from 27% up to 34% in the vote, and proposes a number of ways in which he could repay the woman. The video was apparently recorded a few months before the Austrian national election in October 2017, when the FPÖ took 26% of the vote and entered government.

In a clip of the video that has been released, Strache tells the woman that if his party gains power, state contracts would be given to her supposed companies and no longer be awarded to Austrian construction giant Strabag.
Vice-Chancellor of Austria, Heinz-Christian Strache, steps down both as Vice-Chancellor and chairman of the Freedom Party of Austria due to an alleged corruption scandal.