Austria's President recommends parliamentary elections in early September

Austria's President Alexander van der Bellen said on Sunday he recommends new parliamentary elections to be held early September. It was most important that Austrians were given the chance for a new start to rebuild trust in its government, van der Bellen said in a statement at his Hofburg residence in Vienna.

"This new beginning should take place quickly, as quickly as the provisions of the Federal Constitution permit, so I plead for elections... in September, if possible at the beginning of September," the president said. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz pulled the plug on his coalition and called for a snap election after his deputy, the leader of the far-right Freedom Party, quit over a video showing him discussing fixing state contracts in return for favours.