Sep 26, 2019

Austria's election: Sebastian Kurz set for return to power

Sebastian Kurz at a TV debate. Photo: Joe Klamar/AFP/Getty Image

Four months after he was ousted as Austria's chancellor, 33-year-old Sebastian Kurz is set to return to power in Sunday's election.

Flashback: Kurz's coalition with the far-right Freedom Party collapsed when video emerged of that party's leader "promising state contracts to a woman posing as the niece of a Russian oligarch in exchange for favourable press coverage," per the Economist.

  • Kurz lost a confidence vote after expelling the Freedom Party from government, but he remains popular.
  • His center-right Austrian People’s Party looks set for a big plurality, but not a majority. The biggest question is which party he'll look to partner with this time.
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