TheIbiza affair (German:Ibiza-Affäre), also known asIbiza-gate,[2] was apolitical scandal inAustria involvingHeinz-Christian Strache, the formervice chancellor of Austria and leader of theFreedom Party (FPÖ), as well asJohann 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 byIranian-born lawyer Ramin Mirfakhrai[3][4][5][6][7] (Persian:رامین میرفخرایی),[8] of a meeting inIbiza, 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 ofRussian businessmanIgor 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 theAustrian governing coalition on 18 May 2019 and the announcement of anearly election.[13][14] In a no-confidence vote on 27 May,Sebastian Kurz was voted out of office asAustrian chancellor byParliament, 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.[17]
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On 17 May 2019,Der Spiegel and theSüddeutsche Zeitung reported that in 2017, Strache and Freedom Party member Johann Gudenus had been offered electoral support by a woman posing as the niece of aRussian oligarch namedIgor Makarov. The source of the allegations was a video secretly recorded at a rented villa onIbiza in July 2017, which apparently shows Strache agreeing to offer the woman assistance in acquiring business contracts in Austria in exchange for rendering support in the upcomingOctober 2017 election in Austria.[11] Five people took part in the videotaped meeting, according to the German news outlets, which had examined parts of the tape but had not released the full recordings available to them. Those persons includedHeinz-Christian Strache; a woman who said she was the niece of a Russian oligarch; an interpreter (who came with her); another Freedom Party official,Johann Gudenus, who appears to have set up the meeting; and Gudenus's wife, Tajana[11] (née Tajčić).[18] The persons spoke in English, German, and Russian.[1]
In the footage, according toDer Spiegel, Strache told the putative investor that he had visitedRussia on many occasions and that he had had meetings with advisers of Russia's presidentVladimir Putin with a view to forging a "strategic collaboration".[11] He agreed to the woman's suggestion that she might help his party in the 2017 election by buying the mass-circulation tabloid, theKronen Zeitung; Strache further suggested that she donate funds through their party associations that would be difficult to audit.[1][11]
During the conversation in the footage, Strache said he had contacts with Israelis who opposed left-wing politics in Israel, and that he had been invited to China to promote businessbetween Austria and China. Strache appears to have said that the companiesGlock Ges.m.b.H. andNovomatic, and investorsHeidi Horten andRené Benko, had made large donations to both the FPÖ and theÖVP using nonprofit associations, allegations that all have denied.
Strache also said thatHans Peter Haselsteiner, a major shareholder of the construction companyStrabag, would no longer receive commissions from the government.[1]
In the video, Strache is recorded to have said he wanted to "build a media landscape likeOrbán".[19]
The meeting in the villa was set up by Gudenus, who had several previous meetings with the woman inVienna; Gudenus also provided some of the translation during the meeting as he speaks Russian.[1][11] At some point of the meeting, Gudenus says to the suspicious Strache: "No, it's not a trap".[1][11] Johann Gudenus stated in a later interview that the person who made the first contact to the potential niece of a Russian oligarch, and who was also present at the first meeting on 24 March 2017, was an attorney fromVienna. According to the interview, the man also confirmed the identities of the woman and her German accomplice to Gudenus. The attorney himself refused to give information to the press, pointing toattorney–client privilege and requesting not to be named in publications.[20]
Der Spiegel andSüddeutsche Zeitung, which obtained and analysed parts of the video (over six hours), maintain that they did not know the identity and motives of those who made the video and provided it to them.[1] On 22 May 2019, the two responsible journalists of theSüddeutsche Zeitung,Pulitzer prize winning journalistsBastian Obermayer andFrederik Obermaier, spoke on a television talkshow about the way they had been shown excerpts of the material by the informant. During their second meeting with the source, somepolarization technology was used, so that they had to use specially coated glasses to be able to see the material on a laptop the informant had provided.[21] Both papers involved,Der Spiegel andSüddeutsche Zeitung, said they had not paid for the video.[22]
The highly professional setup of the apparenttrap, the amount of time and money expended on preparing and realising it, made Germany'sDie Welt wonder who might have been behind this operation meant to create what the newspaper referred to asKompromat (incriminating material to be used at the right moment to undermine one's enemy), which had been held back for two years and made public days before theEuropean Parliament election to be held in May 2019.[23]
Austrian newspaperWiener Zeitung linked Germany's political activist group,Zentrum für Politische Schönheit, to the creation of the video, in view of its prior activity as well as the suspicious behaviour onTwitter, the group being the first to follow a new account that was the first to tweet about the initial publication of the video's content.[24]
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz pointed out the similarities to methods used by Israeli election adviserTal Silberstein [de][25] who had been detained for questioning on money-laundering charges in Israel before the 2017 Austrian election.[26] Silberstein was accused in Austria of having used methods ofnegative campaigning in support of theSPÖ in the 2017 election.[27] However, Silberstein denied any involvement in the Ibiza video and accused Kurz of trying to distract from the scandal itself.[28] Austrian writer and historianDoron Rabinovici criticized Kurz for "entirely irresponsibly" invoking antisemitic stereotypes.[29]
German tabloidBild speculated that Austrian lawyer Ramin Mirfakhrai, who was born inTehran, and Julian Hessenthaler,[30] an Austrian private investigator with a dummy address in Munich, were behind this operation.[31] Later in May 2019 Ramin Mirfakhrai via his attorney Richard Soyer stated in a press release that he had commissioned the video.[4]
Journalistic research by theKronen Zeitung indicated that "attorney M." had been looking for a potential buyer for two years, before finally selling the video for €600,000 inKrugerrand coins to an organisation based in Germany. According to the research, the role of the Russian oligarch's niece was played by a Bosnian agricultural student, specially cast for the job.[32]
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On 18 May 2019 at noonCEST, Strache announced his resignation asVice-Chancellor of Austria and Chairman of theFreedom Party at a press conference.[33] He said that he offered Chancellor Kurz his resignation from the office of Vice-Chancellor at 11:00 CEST that day, shortly before attending the press conference. Kurz accepted the withdrawal and responded that he would advisePresidentAlexander Van der Bellen to formally dismiss Strache. Strache nominatedNorbert Hofer, who is Infrastructure and Traffic Minister as well as deputy chairman of the Freedom Party, as his successor for the office of Vice-Chancellor and party leader. The Freedom Party presidium is slated to convene on 19 May and officially appoint Hofer acting and designated party leader.[34][35][36]
At the press conference, Strache portrayed the recording of the video as an illegal and immoral act by the press and announced that he would take any legal action possible against the organizers, recorders and publishers of the video. However, he later admitted and recognized his wrongdoing. Furthermore, Strache wished for the first Kurz government to remain.[37]
Shortly after Strache announced his resignation, Gudenus also announced his withdrawal from all political posts.[38][39]
On 18 May 2019, at 19:45CEST, Chancellor Kurz delivered an official statement at a press conference in theChancellery. In the statement, Kurz praised the cooperation between the two parties but stated "enough is enough" and thereby ended thecurrent coalition government; he also said he had requested thatPresidentAlexander Van der Bellen initiate a legislative election as early as possible.[40][41][42]
On 19 May, following a meeting with Kurz, Alexander Van der Bellen said the country's parties needed to "rebuild trust" with the electorate as soon as possible and advocated holding the election at the beginning of September.[43]
On 20 May 2019, at 18:00CEST, Chancellor Kurz stated in a press conference that he requested PresidentAlexander Van der Bellen to dismissMinister of the InteriorHerbert Kickl. Kickl was among the most controversial politicians of the Freedom Party and would, as Interior Minister, have headed the investigation of the Ibiza affair.[44]
Furthermore, Kurz alleged that Kickl did not take the circumstances seriously after he appointedPeter Goldgruber theDirector General for the Public Security following the revelation of the scandal. Goldgruber had already been a highly controversial figure before the Ibiza affair, especially due to theBVT affair in 2018. He served as theGeneral Secretary of the Interior under Kickl, and is known for his close ties with the minister. As Director General for the Public Security, Goldgruber would directly oversee all of federallaw enforcement in Austria. The same day, President Van der Bellen declined to confirm the appointment of Goldgruber. Experts believe that Kickl appointed Goldgruber as Director General to expand his party's influence over Austrian law enforcement and, since this is a non-cabinet position, Goldgruber would remain in office even after the end of the first Kurz government.[45]
The Freedom Party had already announced jointly withdrawing all their ministers if Kurz dared to propose the dismissal of Kickl. Kurz responded that he would fill the ministerial posts with experts and top functionaries if the Freedom Party did so.[46]
The resignation of all remaining FPÖ ministers in the Kurz government was reported on 20 May 2019, after the Chancellor's move against Herbert Kickl became public. A spokesperson for the FPÖ pointed out a party conference decision which stated that if the Chancellor moved against Kickl, all ministers would resign. In addition to Kickl, Minister of Social AffairsBeate Hartinger-Klein, Minister of Transport, Innovation and TechnologyNorbert Hofer and Minister of DefenceMario Kunasek represented the FPÖ in the Kurz administration. Minister of Foreign AffairsKarin Kneissl was appointed by the FPÖ but was not a member of the party.[47]
JETZT announced avote of no confidence against the government, scheduled to take place on 27 May.[48]
The former Minister of the InteriorHerbert Kickl (FPÖ) said: "Who gives confidence gets confidence. Who gives no confidence gets no confidence." This implied that the FPÖ would vote against the Kurz government in the motion. The FPÖ formally claimed, however, that Kickl's words were taken out of context and that the party had not yet made a decision on the confidence vote.[49]
On 27 May SPÖ entered a motion of no confidence against the government. FPÖ later announced its support for the motion.[50][51]
The National Council passed the motion without a count, as the President determined there was a majority in favour of the no-confidence vote.[52][53][54][55] Austrian PresidentAlexander van der Bellen dismissed Kurz soon after and replaced him with Vice-chancellorHartwig Löger.
The President later dissolved the Council and called asnap election, which was held in September 2019.
At the public prosecutor's office in Vienna, Strache filed a complaint against attorney Ramin Mirfakhrai, private investigator Julian Hessenthaler,[30] and the alleged RussianJane Doe.[5][56] Julian Hessenthaler continues to be in custody.
In August 2020, the public prosecutor's office received an additional 5 minutes of video footage which appeared to relieve Strache from some of the accusations. In the uncut video, Strache had refused the decoy's offer and doing anything illegal. Similarly, Johann Gudenus had stated "we are not doing anything illegal, period". Strache accusedDer Spiegel and theSüddeutsche Zeitung of showing selectively edited material.[16]
Shortly after the scandal broke out, the 1999 "We're Going to Ibiza" song by Dutch pop groupVengaboys gained popularity in Austria, with comedianJan Böhmermann reported to have posted a YouTube link to the song's music video on Twitter on 19 May 2019.[57] The song was chanted by the people who came toHeldenplatz in front of theHofburg Palace in Vienna after Strache resigned on 18 May.[57][58] On 30 May, taking advantage of the popularity, the Vengaboys themselves went to Vienna to do an improvised street concert atBallhausplatz singing the tune.[59]
RussianTurkmen-born businessmanIgor Makarov, who the woman on the Ibiza video claimed was her uncle, made a statement published by the Russian edition ofForbes on 18 May 2019. He said he had no relation or connection to the woman on the video, and added that he was an only child.[60] Makarov is now "using all lawful means to establish who was behind the illegal use of [his] name."[61]
Tajana Gudenus,Johann Gudenus's wife who comes from a Serbian family that leftCroatia forBanja Luka in 1992,[18] made a statement through her lawyers on 22 May 2019. She stated she was not responsible for the collapse of the Austrian government, nor did she in any way influence the events that led to the resignation of Heinz-Christian Strache.[62]
On 25 May 2019, Russian media reported that Russian actress and TV presenterLera Kudryavtseva intended to file a suit against the Austrian dailyÖsterreich for mentioning her name and using her photo in the newspaper's publication that suggested she might have been the Russian woman in the Ibiza video.[63][64][65]
On 17 May 2019,Chairwoman ofthe Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) and leader of the oppositionPamela Rendi-Wagner called for the immediate resignation of Strache and Gudenus.[66]
The next day, she asked for Chancellor Kurz to advisePresidentAlexander Van der Bellen to dismiss Strache.[67] Later that day, she summoned a special meeting of theNational Council and asked for Strache and Gudenus to be held accountable there.[68]
At a press conference, Rendi-Wagner reaffirmed her condemnation of the intents and plans of Strache and Gudenus showcased in the video. She also stated that the simple resignation of both politicians would not suffice, it would need "complete clarification" of the case and new elections.[69]
A few hours after the video tapes were published,Werner Kogler, leader ofThe Greens and the party's frontrunner to theEuropean elections 2019, said the affair was "a case for the prosecutor".[70] On 18 May 2019, one day after the videos' release, he joined thousands of protesters onBallhausplatz, demanding new elections. Following Strache's resignation, Kogler further called for the dismissal of the Interior Minister, Herbert Kickl.[71]
On 17 May 2019,NEOS party leaderBeate Meinl-Reisinger described the scandal as "unacceptable" and called for the resignation of Strache,the whole Cabinet, and asked for new elections.[72]
Chairwoman of theChristian Democratic UnionAnnegret Kramp-Karrenbauer stated that right-wing populists in Europe, in no matter which country, are willing to sell their country's interests for their own well-being. "Even if it's just for a sandwich. These people can not be allowed to assume any responsibility in Europe."[73]
Leader of theEuropean People's Party in theEuropean ParliamentManfred Weber stated that "I've said it for a long time and I've said it many times [...], left and right wing extremists and populists are not a solution."[73]
Social Democratic Party leaderAndrea Nahles stated that "there must be new elections in Austria. A simple resignation by FPÖ leader Strache is insufficient."[73]
Alliance 90/The Greens leaderAnnalena Baerbock states that "This outrageous scandal shows that right-wing populists despise our values likefreedom of the press and therule of law and are working to systematically erode democracy."[73]
Free Democratic Party leaderChristian Lindner said "Strache's video confirms serious concerns. The decision of Chancellor Kurz is consistent and correct. The AfD had found itself a kindred spirit. Will it now distance itself from the FPÖ?"[73]
Leader ofthe LeftBernd Riexinger stated that "The Austrian right wingers surrounding Strache like to portray themselves as the 'party of the little man'. But the façade does not even reach Ibiza. While chatting with Russian oligarchs, the true face of the FPÖ emerges: the party of the rich, corrupt and brazen."[73]
Alternative for Germany party leaderJörg Meuthen stated that "The FPÖ is a close partner to us. We will not stab the Austrian party in the back because of a singular affair."[73]
President of the BundestagWolfgang Schäuble speculated that anintelligence agency was behind the shooting and the publication of the video. Schäuble was quoted saying "Did someone think they could blackmail him?" and "Has someone already been blackmailing him for the last two years?" He concluded that "this smells like an intelligence agency".[74]
President of the European CommissionJean-Claude Juncker said on May 21 that he considered the events to be an internal affair of Austria. He neither triggered the crisis within the Austrian government nor would it be his job to fix it. Asked about the contents of the video, Juncker said the idea of offering a country to others on a silver platter would go against his patriotic sensibilities.[75]
Media related toDemo Ballhausplatz 2019-05-18 at Wikimedia Commons