Austrian chancellor Kurz resigns to save his party's coalition

Austria's conservative chancellor Sebastian Kurz has resigned to pull his coalition government back from the brink of collapse after the junior party demanded he step down because he has been placed under investigation on suspicion of corruption.

The move by Kurz, who denies wrongdoing, satisfied his People's Party coalition partner, the Greens, and came just three days before a special session of parliament at which they were preparing to back a motion of no-confidence that would have forced him out.

At the same time, his resignation is more a matter of form than substance in terms of policy. He plans to stay on as his party's leader and become its top lawmaker in parliament, and he is likely to continue to call the shots in the coalition.

"I would therefore like to make way in order to end the stalemate, to prevent chaos and to ensure stability," Kurz said in a statement to the media.

(CGTN)