IMAGE: Ronald Zak / AP
Austria’s vice chancellor has resigned after footage allegedly showing his coversation with ‘Russia-linked’ persons was published online this week. The released video allegedly shows him offering German contracts to an alleged Russian benefactor in return for ‘Russian investitions and support’.
At a news conference, Heinz-Christian Strache stressed he was set up illegally, and claimed the publication was a “political assassination”. At the same time, he described his behaviour in the video as “stupid, irresponsible and a mistake”.
The concerned video, filmed in 2016, allegedly showed Mr Strache offering government contracts to a woman from Russia. Thsi woman, Alena Makarova, claimed she was a niece of some Russian oligarch and was supposedly interested in investing large amounts of money in Austria.
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The video showed Mr Strache and his party colleague Johann Gudenus telling the woman she would get big construction contracts, in return for buying Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung and supporting the Freedom Party. Additionally, Mr Strache suggested ways of funnelling money to his party through an unconnected foundation that would get around Austria’s political donation rules.
Besied this, Mr Strache said that he acted “boastfully as a teenager” and had a macho attitude therefore hurting “the most important person” his life – his. He stated that this development was a provication but apologized for these actions.
Some mainstream media outlets described the alleged discussion regarding the buying Kronen Zeitung as a sign of “Russian influence” in Europe. However, if, theoretically, some Russians would buy a part of the newspaper via intermediaries, this would not allow them to influence the editorial policy of the outlet. The filmed woman, Alena Makarova, claimed that she was a niece of some Russian oligarch but no evidence or any factors confirming these claims were provided.
The behaviour of the “Russian representatives” looks like a low-cost performance. The key fact, which provided video may conflirm, is that Mr Strache is not a professional and has not enough skills, including negotiating ones, to be the vice chancellor of Austria.
