Strategist comeback

Kurz’s mastermind pulls the strings in the ÖVP again

Sebastian Kurz with some of his confidants. One of them is already back.(Bild: APA/Helmut Fohringer)

ÖVP leader Christian Stocker has hired a tough strategist for the coalition negotiations. During the Sebastian Kurz era, this man not only negotiated all coalitions, he was also regarded as the eminence grise who planned all political moves for the then ÖVP leader. His handwriting is already recognizable.

He was always a phantom in the public eye, although he was the most important strategic whisperer for ÖVP Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. After the house search in the Federal Chancellery due to the survey case in October 2021, not only did Kurz resign, but all of the ÖVP leader's confidants ended their involvement in the Federal Chancellery.