Richard Parks Austria’s former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has been acquitted of perjury by Vienna’s Higher Regional Court. The court overturned his eight-month suspended prison sentence on Monday, ending a legal case that lasted over a year and kept Kurz in the public spotlight.
Kurz testified in 2020 during a parliamentary inquiry into his first government, a coalition between his Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) and the far-right Freedom Party. Prosecutors accused him of making false statements about his role in creating OeBAG, a state holding company, and appointing his ally Thomas Schmid to a senior position. The original conviction focused on alleged misleading remarks about the composition of OeBAG’s supervisory board.
Monday’s ruling completely overturned this conviction, clearing Kurz of perjury charges related to his testimony. However, the court upheld a six-month suspended sentence for Kurz’s former chief of staff, Bernhard Bonelli. Bonelli was convicted of giving false testimony about his and Kurz’s roles in selecting OeBAG board members. Kurz expressed regret about this part of the decision.
Kurz’s trial was the first time in over 30 years that a former Austrian chancellor stood trial. He was once seen as a rising star among European conservatives but resigned in 2021 amid other corruption allegations. His party, the Austrian People’s Party, continues to lead the government under Chancellor Karl Nehammer, though it lost the top spot in the September 2024 elections.