BERLIN – Austria’s Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced on Saturday he would resign, days after prosecutors launched a criminal investigation into allegations he used federal money to pay pollinators and journalists for favorable coverage.
The move came after Mr Kurz’s allies in the government threatened to leave the coalition unless he was replaced by his conservative People’s Party.
“I agree that this is not an easy step for me,” Mr Kurz told reporters at a news conference in Vienna. “My country is more important than my person. What it needs is stability.”
Mr Kurz said he would suggest the country’s foreign minister, Alexander Schellenberg, as his replacement at chancellor.