Austrian Chancellor Kurz steps down over corruption allegations

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz resigned after pressure over accusation in a corruption scandal.

Kurz, 35, who denied any wrongdoing was under fire from his own coalition partner the Greens. Kurz said he wanted to "end the stalemate to prevent chaos" as he stepped down from office. 

The outgoing Chancellor put forward the name of foreign minister Alexander Schallenberg as the new head which the Greens said was the "right step for future government work".

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Kurz and nine others have been placed under corruption investigation involving suspicious corrupt deal to ensure positive media coverage between 2016 and 2018.

In 2017, Sebastian Kurz had become the youngest democratically elected leader in the world at 31 years of age, however, pressure grew on the Chancellor after raids were carried out by authorities linked to his People's Party (OeVP).

There were also demonstrations outside OeVP headquarter this week calling for Kurz's resignation as the coalition government began to crumble.

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Kurz has however maintained that the allegations are false while promising to clear his name. The Austrian Chancellor has had a tumultuous time as his far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) had collapsed two years ago and he was emoved in a no-confidence vote in parliament.

However, the young Chancellor made a comeback in the polls after his party came out on top in the elections. Kurz took the help of Greens last year in order to form a majority however there was friction with his junior party over immigration which was FPOe's core agenda.

Vice chancellor and Greens leader Werner Kogler had declared Kurz was "no longer fit for office" as the political crisis in Austria deepened leading to the regulation of the Chancellor.

(With inputs from Agencies)