In an interview with ORF man Patrick Budgen, Matthias Strolz analyzed the past government crisis on Saturday at “Wien Heute” and went into his text from 2017. In this, the then Neos boss of the ÖVP prophesied “a foreseeable tragedy”. In the past few days after the Chancellor’s departure, the Facebook posting was also picked up by a lot of the media.
He was not surprised by the choice of words in the scandal chats around ex-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, said Strolz in an interview with ORF. It is clear to him: “They felt so safe that they didn’t care.” And further: “I knew the mindset. I negotiated with Sebastian Kurz in 2016, I was a fan of him as State Secretary for Integration, the work was good back then. So we came up with the idea of creating a platform together. The idea I broke off in the fall of 2016 because I had to realize that this is not a matter of integrity. A clique of guys here just wants power. “
Strolz speaks plainly: “Moral sluggishness under the dog”
He was convinced that Sebastian Kurz would be abroad in a year and would only come to Austria to take part in trial days. He did not want to throw stones after Kurz today, Strolz continued. Shortly stands anyway at the beginning of a month-long process, at the end of which the ÖVP will say goodbye to himself. The ex-chancellor will not be able to hold his own as ÖVP boss, believes the former Neos boss. More and more would turn away from him.
The Vorarlberger even recommended Kurz to withdraw from politics completely before Christmas. Otherwise, Strolz even expects that the ÖVP could split. “I wrote him a text message before he resigned out of an old bond: ‘Make way, it’s over, I wish you all the best from my heart.’ Postscript: “He also has something to do, he’s going to be a father. He’s going to get a lot of text messages and he’ll be careful about replying these days. “
Strolz found hard words, spoke of a “moral squalor that was under the dog”: “That is lying from the private life to the staging of the Chancellery. And people will recognize that more and more.” If top-level politics are practically organized to satisfy personal needs, then that is not enough: “I also expect a minimum of idealism.”
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