Original article (in Bosnian) was published on 07/12/2021
After Sebastian Kurz resigned from the position of Chancellor of Austria, a claim appeared on social networks that the reason for that was his “refusal to participate in medical apartheid”, i.e., in the introduction of anti-pandemic measures. However, Kurz resigned because an investigation into corruption was launched against him and his associates. In fact, he was an advocate of vaccination while performing the mentioned function.
On the Facebook page Dean Deki RS – Official, on November 20, 2021, a status was published about the alleged reasons for the resignation of former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. The status states, among other things:
If you refuse to participate in medical apartheid, they will bring whoever they want in your place, and they will set up a financial affair for you, just to throw sand in the eyes of the public.
It is better to withdraw anyway than to take part in the genocide of one’s own people.
Sebastian Kurz and Alexander Schallenberg, two people and one function.
There is no difference between the two, they are from the same party and the same office, except that the former refused to perform the task.
Schallenberg accepted the game and replaced Kurz as the state chancellor.
In the rest of the publication, the author talks about anti-pandemic measures introduced in Austria, and those whose introduction is announced, such as mandatory vaccination against Covid-19. The author also delves into the field of conspiracy theories, stating that “this whole story is cooked in the same kitchen”, linking possible calls for mandatory vaccination in Austria with messages by the Institute of Public Health of Serbia “Dr. Milan Jovanovic Batut”, calling on the Serbian population to get vaccinated.
The Facebook post also claims that the alleged reason why anti-pandemic measures are not introduced immediately, but their implementation is announced, is in fact “productive programming” by which “future events should be imposed on the masses through the media to be accepted later”.
Along with the status, a picture was published representing a collage of photos of Kurz, Chancellor Schallenberg, and protests against anti-pandemic measures in Austria.
By the time this analysis was written, the mentioned post had achieved almost 1,200 interactions on the social network Facebook.
What are the facts?
Former President of the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) Sebastian Kurz resigned as Austrian Chancellor on October 9, 2021. The reason for his resignation was an investigation into his involvement in corrupt practices, as well as the involvement of people close to him in the party of which he was president.
Namely, Kurz is suspected of using taxpayers’ money between 2016 and 2018 to pay a polling company to produce polls, the results of which are in his favor, and to pay the media to publish those polls. According to a BBC article citing the Office of the Prosecutor for Economic Affairs and Corruption, an investigation has been launched against Kurz, nine of his associates and three organizations “on suspicion of abuse of trust, corruption and bribery, partly at different levels involvement”.
Kurz denied the accusations, but resigned as Austria’s chancellor after the ÖVP’s coalition partner, the Greens, threatened to leave the government formed with the ÖVP..
As his replacement as chancellor, Kurz nominated Alexander Schallenberg, who took office on October 11, 2021. Schallenberg has been described as Kurz’s close associate, and many political analysts have interpreted his arrival as the new chancellor as a kind of extension of Kurz’s influence, taking into account the similarity of the policies they advocate.
On December 2, 2021, Kurz announced that he was retiring from politics and leaving the position of leader of the Austrian People’s Party. His successor as Chancellor Schallenberg resigned, and was replaced by Karl Nehammer, who also became the leader of the ÖVP. As a reason for his withdrawal, Schallenberg stated that he wanted to give way to a new party leader, since in Austria the chancellor is traditionally at the head of the party, Politico states.
Thus, Kurz resigned due to a serious scandal in which he was allegedly involved, and his resignation from the position of Chancellor of Austria has nothing to do with “refusing to participate in medical apartheid”. None of this indicates the connection between his resignation and the “refusal to perform the task”, which in the “conspiracy” context of the Facebook post was linked to the Covid-19 vaccination.
Also, the fact that his successor Schallenberg advocated similar policies, and quickly resigned from the position of chancellor, indicates the unfounded claim that he “accepted the game” and was therefore appointed to the said position. It should be noted that Kurz himself advocated vaccination while performing the function of the Chancellor of Austria. For example, in September, he said that vaccination would be the main focus in the context of anti-pandemic measures in Austria, and for future announced “lockdowns”, he pointed out that they would be aimed only at unvaccinated people.
Accordingly, the allegations that Kurz left the position of the chancellor because he “refused to participate in medical apartheid”, are rated as fake news and conspiracy theory.