“House of Kurz” could mean the end of the Austrian Chancellor

Government money has been embezzled, influencing the press, incriminating conversations on apps. After police raids on ministries, the ÖVP party office and the chancellery Wednesday Austria is surprised at an unprecedented political scandal. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz’s whirlwind career, 35, appears to be the result of bribes, political machinations and abuse of power.

Austrians are already talking about Kurz House, the comparison with the Machiavellian Frank Underwood of the American series Netflix Card castle after all, insist. With mass polls, Kurz would have first surrendered his own party leader and then won the chancellery. The script for this was called simple Ballhausplatz project, at the official residence of the head of the Austrian government.

“Short Survived already a lot crisis to allegations, but now it will be very difficult for him, ”thinks German correspondent Wouter Zwart. “He and the whole clique around him, who call themselves De Familie, are called by name. There seems to have been a clear campaign to put Kurz on the shield. “

Quick play

Austrian prosecutors came across reports of the popularity campaign in app conversations on confiscated phones. The prosecution appoints ten people, including Kurz himself and his closest associates. “Sebastian Kurz was the linchpin, all the crimes were primarily in his best interests,” the prosecutor said.

Kurz was a political prodigy, Hope for the future of his conservative Volkspartei, who fought on the right to find an answer to the populist FPÖ. Secretary of State at 24, Minister of Foreign Affairs three years later and aims to become Chancellor in 2017.

“He had the image of a young and handsome politician, because we also knew Obama, Trudeau and Macron at the time”, explains Zwart. “Without the ad campaign he is now accused of, he might have survived. You may ask yourself: a boy like that doesn’t need this, does he?