Ibiza affair

Screenshot of the video that triggered the affair, showing Johann Gudenus (left), his wife Tajana (centre)[1] and Heinz-Christian Strache (right) meeting with the sting operative in July 2017

The Ibiza affair (German: Ibiza-Affäre), also known as Ibiza-gate,[2] was a political scandal in Austria involving Heinz-Christian Strache, the former vice chancellor of Austria and leader of the Freedom Party (FPÖ), as well as Johann Gudenus, formerly a deputy leader of the Freedom Party.

The scandal was triggered on 17 May 2019 by the publication of a secretly recorded video, which was commissioned by Iranian-born lawyer Ramin Mirfakhrai[3][4][5][6][7] (Persian: رامین میرفخرایی),[8] of a meeting in Ibiza, Spain in July 2017, which shows then opposition politicians Strache and Gudenus discussing their party's underhanded practices and intentions.[9][10][11] In the video, both politicians appeared receptive to proposals by a woman calling herself Alyona Makarova, who was posing as a niece of Russian businessman Igor Makarov,[12] discussing providing the FPÖ with positive news coverage in return for government contracts. Strache and Gudenus also hinted at corrupt political practices involving other wealthy donors to the FPÖ in Europe and elsewhere.

The scandal caused the collapse of the Austrian governing coalition on 18 May 2019 and the announcement of an early election.[13][14] In a no-confidence vote on 27 May, Sebastian Kurz was voted out of office as Austrian chancellor by Parliament, and on 28 May a caretaker government was appointed. The election was set for 29 September.[15] In 2020, a partial transcript of an as of yet unreleased portion of the video was published by the public prosecutor's office. Strache claimed the new material showed he never committed illegal activity,[16] though he was later convicted of corruption using other evidence.[17]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference trap was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Austria's 'Ibiza-gate' video: What we know". France 24. Agence France-Presse. 23 May 2019. Archived from the original on 24 May 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  3. ^ "What you need to know about Austria's 'Ibiza-gate' video". The Local. AFP. 29 May 2019.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Wiener Anwalt gesteht was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference oe24 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Crossland, David (25 May 2019). "Dirty toes almost gave away sting that shattered Austrian politics". The Times. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  7. ^ ""Ibizagate": ce que l'on sait de la vidéo" ["Ibizagate": What we know about the video]. Tribune de Genève (in French). AFP. 27 May 2019.
  8. ^ نقش وکیل ایرانی در بحران سیاسی اتریش [The role of the lawyer in the Austrian political crisis] (in Persian). Iran online. 19 May 2019. Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  9. ^ "Austrian government plunged into crisis over 'Ibiza affair'". France 24. AFP. 18 May 2019. Archived from the original on 20 May 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  10. ^ Groendahl, Boris (18 May 2019). "Austria's Nationalist Vice Chancellor Quits Over Video Scandal". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 19 May 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  11. ^ Schuetze, Christopher F. (18 May 2019). "Highlights From the Video That Brought Down Austria's Vice Chancellor". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 18 May 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  12. ^ Al-Serori, Leila; Das Gupta, Oliver; Münch, Peter; Obermaier, Frederik; Obermayer, Bastian (17 May 2019). "Das Strache-Video: Die Falle". Süddeutsche Zeitung.
  13. ^ "Austria chancellor calls for snap election after corruption scandal". BBC News. 18 May 2019. Archived from the original on 18 May 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  14. ^ Bennhold, Katrin; Schuetze, Christopher F. (18 May 2019). "Austrian Leader Calls for Snap Election After Far-Right Vice Chancellor Resigns". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 18 May 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  15. ^ Ismail, Nermin (21 May 2019). "What happens if Austria's chancellor is voted out?". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference DieWeltAugust2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ "Austria's ex-vice chancellor convicted of 'Ibizagate' corruption". euronews. 27 August 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2022.

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