Austria's Vice Chancellor Quits In The Wake Of A Video Scandal - NPR

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Austria's Vice Chancellor and chairman of the Freedom Party, Heinz-Christian Strache, announces his resignation at a press conference in Vienna on Saturday, following a video scandal. Alex Halada/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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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.

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https://www.npr.org/2019/05/18/724580640/austrias-vice-chancellor-quits-after-video-surfaces-of-meeting-with-russian-inve

2019-05-18 16:27:00Z
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Australia Election Results: Prime Minister Scott Morrison Seizes a Stunning Win - The New York Times

SYDNEY, Australia — Scott Morrison, Australia’s conservative prime minister, scored a surprise victory in federal elections on Saturday, propelled by a populist wave — the “quiet Australians,” he termed it — resembling the force that has upended politics in the United States, Britain and beyond.

The win stunned Australian election analysts — polls had pointed to a loss for Mr. Morrison’s coalition for months. But in the end, the prime minister confounded expectations suggesting that the country was ready for a change in course after six years of tumultuous leadership under the conservative political coalition.

“I have always believed in miracles,” Mr. Morrison said at his victory party in Sydney, adding, “Tonight is about every single Australian who depends on their government to put them first. And that is exactly what we are going to do.”

The election had presented Australia, a vital American ally in the Asia-Pacific, with a crucial question: Would it remain on a rightward path and stick with a political coalition that promised economic stability, jobs and cuts to immigration or choose greater action on climate change and income inequality?

By granting Mr. Morrison his first full term, Australians signaled their reluctance to bet on a new leader, choosing to stay the course with a hardworking rugby lover at a time when the economy has not suffered a recession in nearly 28 years.

“Australians are just deeply conservative — wherever possible, we cling to the status quo,” said Jill Sheppard, a lecturer in politics at the Australian National University. “While we want progress on certain issues, we don’t like major upheavals.”

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Supporters of Mr. Morrison’s center-right Liberal Party during a results-counting event in Sydney.CreditMick Tsikas/EPA, via Shutterstock

The triumph by Mr. Morrison, an evangelical Christian who has expressed admiration for President Trump, comes at a time of rising tension in the Asia-Pacific region. A trade war between the United States and China has forced longtime American allies like Australia to weigh security ties with Washington against trade ties with Beijing.

The conservative victory also adds Australia to a growing list of countries that have shifted rightward through the politics of grievance, including Brazil, Hungary and Italy. Mr. Morrison’s pitch mixed smiles and scaremongering, warning older voters and rural voters in particular that a government of the left would leave them behind and favor condescending elites.

[Read more about the right’s role in Australian politics.]

The candidate Mr. Morrison defeated, Bill Shorten, the leader of the center-left Labor Party, offered an alternative path for Australia: a return to more government intervention on climate change and the economy, and intensified skepticism about the United States and Mr. Trump.

Mr. Shorten, despite being the face of the political opposition for six years, was not an easy sell to the public. His personal approval ratings never matched Mr. Morrison’s, and he relied on the more popular and diverse members of his party to score points with the public.

On Saturday night, he conceded defeat and said he would no longer serve as opposition leader. “I know you’re all hurting,” he told supporters in Melbourne. “And I am, too.”

Mr. Morrison, who kept policy proposals to a minimum during the campaign, rode a singular message to victory: that the Labor Party’s plans to raise spending to bolster public health programs, education and wages would blow up the budget and end Australia’s generation-long run of economic growth.

Ignoring the turmoil that has led his coalition to churn through three prime ministers in six years, he promoted his center-right Liberal Party as a steady hand on the tiller, and made promises of cheaper energy and help for first-time homeowners.

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Outside a Melbourne polling station. Mr. Morrison portrayed the opposition Labor Party as a threat to economic growth.CreditAsanka Brendon Ratnayake for The New York Times

[For more Australia news with global context, sign up for the weekly Australia Letter.]

The intraparty tumult came to a head last year when the Liberals’ right flank ousted Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. He was toppled in August after his moderate plan to address carbon emissions was rejected by his coalition’s right wing as going too far.

The party coup soured many Australians on the country’s political system and helped contribute to a degree of voter apathy and anger that colored Saturday’s election.

The campaign was short — just over a month, as is the standard in Australia. And Mr. Morrison’s effort was defined mainly by energy, with folksy events and handshakes for voters, coupled with stiff criticism of Mr. Shorten and a determination not to take no for an answer.

His combative style was especially clear during the second of three televised leadership debates, when he stepped close to Mr. Shorten, who accused him of being a “space invader.”

To those who opposed Mr. Morrison, it was a sign of his bullying tendencies; to those who supported him, it was seen as evidence of passion and conviction.

He portrayed himself “as the good bloke, the good father, the buddy, the mate that Australians would like to have,” said Patrick Dumont, a professor of political science at the Australian National University.

Mr. Morrison, 51, is a veteran politician who has occasionally sought out a provocative role on hot-button issues.

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Labor Party supporters watching news of the results at an election-night event in Melbourne.CreditAsanka Brendon Ratnayake for The New York Times

He entered Parliament in 2007, representing a suburb of Sydney. As immigration minister in 2013, he proudly embraced a “stop the boats” policy that denied asylum seekers arriving by sea the right to apply for settlement in Australia.

Under his predecessor, Mr. Turnbull, he served as treasurer, appearing in Parliament at one point with a lump of coal to deliver a message to those demanding stronger action on climate change.

“Don’t be afraid,” he told lawmakers, without mentioning that the coal had been shellacked to keep his hands from getting dirty. “Don’t be scared.”

Though he has an image as a political brawler, Mr. Morrison has proved adept at the insider politics of Canberra, Australia’s capital. He was a loyal foot soldier under Mr. Turnbull until the party pushed to oust the prime minister, at which point Mr. Morrison successfully offered himself up as an alternative.

In August, he became Australia’s fifth prime minister in five years — a sign of how volatile the country’s politics has been over the past few years.

The fact that he escaped punishment from Australian voters for his actions during the party coup surprised many experts.

“I think we’re just getting used to the politics of the absurd,” said Susan Harris-Rimmer, a law professor at Griffith University in Queensland. “It just seems like it’s been a long time since politics was normal anywhere.”

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Polling booths in the Melbourne suburb of Box Hill on Saturday.CreditAsanka Brendon Ratnayake for The New York Times

Mr. Morrison, however, rode a wave of conservative support. The coalition of the Liberal and National Parties maintained seats in closely contested suburbs from Perth to Melbourne, and picked up support across rural areas.

In the northeastern state of Queensland, which stretches from Brisbane to the tropics near the Great Barrier Reef, several Liberal Party candidates won handily. That suggested that in the battle over the proposed Adani coal mine, which would be among the largest in the world if it receives final government approval, voters favored immediate concerns about jobs over the risks of climate change.

The Liberal Party did suffer some setbacks. Tony Abbott, the divisive former prime minister, lost his race in a Sydney suburb, where voters demanded more action on climate change. He was one of several conservatives who had argued that most Australians were not willing to trade immediate needs for more distant global concerns.

“It’s clear that in what might be described as ‘working seats,’ we are doing so much better,” he said in his concession speech. “It’s also clear that in at least some of what might be described as ‘wealthy seats,’ we are doing it tough, and the Green left is doing better.”

Mr. Morrison, who has been cautious on climate change, arguing that current policy is enough, can now claim that his mix of enthusiasm and his appeal to working-class economic stability — focused on “a fair go” for all — is what Australians wanted.

Australian voters ultimately stuck with what they knew, while also tilting toward personality. They rejected policies that would have altered the financial status quo, including efforts to cut back on tax perks for older and wealthier voters, and went along with the more energetic politician.

As Mr. Morrison said at his campaign launch, “When I get determined, I get very determined.”

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/18/world/australia/election-results-scott-morrison.html

2019-05-18 15:00:00Z
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Australia election: Shorten concedes defeat - CNN

Former Australia leader John Howard was full of praise for Prime Minister Scott Morrison at the Liberal Party function in Sydney on Saturday night.

"It's very clear that Scott Morrison has waged an incredibly successful campaign," Howard told CNN affiliate Seven News, describing the incumbent leader as "magnificent."

"He's waged a relentless campaign, he's been direct, he's been clear, he's been cogent and he's argued the case incredibly well."

Howard is Australia's second-longest serving prime minister, leading the country between 1996 and 2007.

According to the Australian Electoral Commission, the Liberal National coalition is predicted to win 74 seats -- just short of the 76 needed to form a majority.

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https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/australia-election-day-2019/index.html

2019-05-18 13:50:00Z
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FM Javad Zarif: We don't want war, and no one can confront Iran - Aljazeera.com

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says he does not believe a war will break out in the region as Tehran does not want a conflict and no country has the "illusion it could confront Iran", state news agency IRNA reports.

Concerns about a possible conflict have flared since the White House ordered warships and bombers to the Middle East to counter an alleged, unexplained threat from Iran.

Earlier this week the US also pulled some diplomatic staff from its embassy in Baghdad following weekend attacks on four oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

"There will be no war because neither we want a war, nor has anyone the idea or illusion that it can confront Iran in the region," Zarif told IRNA before ending his visit to Beijing.

US deployment 

Meanwhile, Saudi media reported that the kingdom and a number of Gulf states have agreed to a request by the US to redeploy the latter's military forces in Gulf waters and territories.

According to the reports, the approval came on the basis of bilateral agreements between Washington and Gulf countries.

The motive for redeployment, according to the Saudi reports, was to deter Iran from any attempt to escalate the situation militarily, not to engage in a war with it.

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This all takes root in US President Donald Trump's decision last year to withdraw the US from the 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and world powers and impose wide-reaching sanctions.

The move came even as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has verified that Tehran has upheld its obligations under the deal. 

Last week, Time magazine quoted Pentagon officials as saying there was no military plan to confront Iran.

On the Iranian side, the Guardian newspaper reported in an exclusive report on Thursday that Tehran had ordered its militias in the Middle East to prepare for a proxy war.

The deputy commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Saleh Jokar, said on Friday that his country's missiles could easily reach US warships anchored in the Gulf and the rest of the region in case of war.

On the other hand, a senior Iranian legislator, Hashmatullah Falahat Pishe, called for an Iranian-American dialogue in Iraq or Qatar, to de-escalate tensions with Washington.

Secret reports

Inside the US, congressional sources on Saturday said officials from Trump's administration would make secret statements about the situation with Iran this week, after politicians from the Democratic and Republican parties asked for more information.

Members of Congress have complained for weeks that Trump's administration has not given them enough information about the current tension with Iran, and some Republicans say they have not been briefed on the issue.

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Relations between Washington and Tehran have been strained in recent days after Trump issued a resolution to try to stop Iran's oil exports completely, and bolstered the US military presence in the Gulf in response to what officials in its administration said were "imminent" Iranian threats to Washington's interests in the region, without explaining the nature of the alleged threat.

Adding to the rhetoric, US diplomats warned commercial airliners flying over the wider Gulf of the risk of being "misidentified" amid the heightened tensions.

The warning relayed by US diplomatic posts from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) underlined the risks the current tensions pose to a region crucial to global air travel.

SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies

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2019-05-18 11:31:00Z
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Austria minister Heinz-Christian Strache resigns amid video scandal - BBC News

Austria's Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache has resigned a day after secret video footage mired him in a corruption scandal.

The video appeared to show Mr Strache discussing government contracts with an alleged Russian investor in return for campaign support.

He also appeared to hint at a potentially illegal donation system for the far-right Freedom Party he leads.

Mr Strache said that transport minister Norbert Hofer will replace him.

He said that his actions had been "stupid" and "irresponsible" and was leaving to avoid further damage to the government.

Mr Strache claimed he was the "victim of a targeted political attack" that had used illegal means.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz of the centre-right People's Party was also due to give a statement on Saturday.

• Austria far-right activist condemned over swastika
• Austria may disband far-right group over NZ link

The damaging video featuring Mr Strache was allegedly filmed on the Spanish island of Ibiza in 2017, just months before elections brought him to power.

It was published on Friday in a joint report by Der Spiegel and the daily Süddeutsche Zeitung. It is unclear who set up the meeting and who filmed it.

The footage shows Mr Strache and Johann Gudenus - also a Freedom Party politician - talking to a woman who claimed to be the niece of a Russian oligarch. She told the pair that she was looking to invest in Austria.

Both politicians can be seen smoking and drinking while relaxing on sofas.

The woman offers to buy a 50% stake in Austria's Kronen-Zeitung newspaper and switch its editorial allegiance to the Freedom Party.

Mr Strache names several journalists who would have to be "pushed" from the newspaper.

He also appears to suggest that she could be awarded public contracts.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48320983

2019-05-18 11:04:30Z
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Austria minister Heinz-Christian Strache resigns amid video scandal - BBC News

Austria's Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache has resigned a day after secret video footage mired him in a corruption scandal.

The video appeared to show Mr Strache discussing government contracts with an alleged Russian investor in return for campaign support.

He also appeared to hint at a potentially illegal donation system for the far-right Freedom Party he leads.

Mr Strache said that transport minister Norbert Hofer will replace him.

He said he was leaving to avoid further damage to the government and claimed he had been the "victim of a targeted political attack" which had used illegal means.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz of the centre-right People's Party is expected to give a statement on the matter soon.

The video was published on Friday in a joint report by Der Spiegel and the daily Süddeutsche Zeitung.

It is unclear who set up the meeting and who filmed it.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48320983

2019-05-18 10:52:30Z
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Austria’s Vice Chancellor Stepping Down May Not Save Government - Bloomberg

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1. Austria’s Vice Chancellor Stepping Down May Not Save Government  Bloomberg
2. Heinz-Christian Strache: Vice-chancellor caught on secret video  BBC News
3. Austrian leader calls crisis meeting after deputy filmed discussing deals  Reuters
4. Austria far-right leader under fire over filmed contract scandal  Aljazeera.com
5. Report: Austrian politician offered contracts for support  Fox News
6. View full coverage on Google News

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-18/austria-s-fpoe-offers-to-replace-strache-with-hofer-apa-reports

2019-05-18 08:02:00Z
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