Europe has been shaken by three political earthquakes in quick succession. On 9 October, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz – previously celebrated as the Wunderkind of European conservatism – was forced to resign after being named as a suspect in a corruption probe. The same day, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis – who faces serious corruption allegations himself – lost to the country’s centre-right opposition in a general election he was widely expected to win. These upsets followed a 7 October ruling by Poland’s Constitutional Court that challenged the primacy of EU law, a decision that threatens to erode the foundations of the European Union’s legal order.
All three developments have created international headlines and underscored how the rule of law – and the threat of its unravelling – has become a defining issue for the stability of the EU. Yet, given Kurz’s personality cult at home and his notoriety internationally, it may be the Austrian case that contributes most to a culture of corruption in the union.
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Europe has been shaken by three political earthquakes in quick succession. On 9 October, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz – previously celebrated as the Wunderkind of European conservatism – was forced to resign after being named as a suspect in a corruption probe. The same day, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis – who faces serious corruption allegations himself – lost to the country’s centre-right opposition in a general election he was widely expected to win. These upsets followed a 7 October ruling by Poland’s Constitutional Court that challenged the primacy of EU law, a decision that threatens to erode the foundations of the European Union’s legal order.
All three developments have created international headlines and underscored how the rule of law – and the threat of its unravelling – has become a defining issue for the stability of the EU. Yet, given Kurz’s personality cult at home and his notoriety internationally, it may be the Austrian case that contributes most to a culture of corruption in the union.