Original title: 35 year old Austrian Prime Minister Kurtz announced his resignation and is being investigated for corruption scandals
Beijing, October 10 (Xinhua) according to foreign media reports, Austrian conservative Prime Minister Kurtz was investigated by the authorities because he was involved in a corruption scandal. He announced his resignation on the evening of 9 local time and nominated Current Foreign Minister Sharon Berg to replace the prime minister.
According to Agence France Presse, Kurtz told the media on the evening of the 9th that it was irresponsible for "(as Prime Minister) to get stuck in a chaos and deadlock for several months." Kurtz said that his resignation was for the sake of national stability, and he refuted the "false accusations" against him.
"I want to give up my position to avoid confusion," Kurtz said. Kurtz said that the current Foreign Minister Sharon Berg had been nominated to replace the prime minister.
On the 6th of this month, Austrian prosecutors announced a corruption investigation into Kurtz, which put Kurtz under pressure to resign. However, Kurtz, 35, denied the charges against him and said they were "fabricated".
It is reported that Kurtz was suspected of using government funds to obtain positive media reports. According to the prosecution, between 2016 and 2018, the Ministry of finance was suspected of financing opinion polls in favor of Kurtz and the party. These polls are partly "manipulated". Kurtz and nine other people were investigated on suspicion of violating integrity and corruption. On the 6th, the authorities sent personnel to search the offices of Kurtz's ruling party, the Austrian people's party, and other places, causing the country to have a ruling crisis again.
Kurtz hopes to end the political deadlock and ensure the stability of the situation through his resignation. He said that after he stepped down as prime minister, he would become the leader of the Ruling Party Congress and continue to be active in the political front.