Austria’s Chancellor Kurz ousted in parliament no-confidence vote

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has been ousted by the country’s parliament in a no-confidence vote, triggered by a video scandal.

The vote came hours after Mr Kurz’s centre-right Austrian People’s Party comfortably won the country’s EU elections.

Speaking in parliament, a composed Mr Kurz said he was “proud and satisfied with the work we have done as a government in the past year and a half”.

Image: Sebastian Kurz leaves the parliament after he loses confidence vote

He added: “We will certainly not put any stones on the path of the next government.

“We will support them as much as possible.”

The video at the centre of the scandal shows the leader of the junior coalition party negotiating deals with the purported niece of a Russian oligarch.

Former vice chancellor and Freedom Party leader Heinz-Christian Strache, who was allegedly making the deals in the video, resigned over the scandal.

Mr Kurz then cut ties with his coalition partners, prompting the left-wing Social Democrats to table the no-confidence motion.

Social Democrats leader Pamela Rendi-Wagner accused Mr Kurz of using the video scandal to consolidate his power and said: “This is a shameless, unrestrained and irresponsible power grab, this is what we are witnessing.

“But the power in our country is based on the people, and not you.”

Image: Heinz-Christian Strache resigned following the release of the video

The scandal, dubbed Ibiza-gate, was triggered when German newspapers Sueddeutsche Zeitung and Der Spiegel published parts of a covert video that allegedly showed Mr Strache offering government contracts to a woman from Russia, who was supposedly interested in investing large amounts of money in Austria.

In the clip, Mr Strache and party colleague Johann Gudenus can be heard telling the woman she would get big construction contracts in return for buying an Austrian newspaper and supporting the Freedom Party.

Sueddeutsche Zeitung and Der Spiegel said the footage was authenticated by a forensic video expert.

According to the newspapers, the video was recorded during a six-hour long drink-fuelled conversation at a villa in Ibiza.

As well as discussing investments, which included the sale of Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung, Mr Strache also suggested ways of funnelling money to his party through an unconnected foundation that would get around Austria’s political donation rules.

A new election has already been planned for September and a caretaker government will be in place until then.

Austria’s president must choose the new chancellor.