What is going on behind the scenes at the Politbühne in Austria? The Austrian director Stefan Ruzowitzky is outraged – and finds drastic words.
Berlin / Vienna – The Austrian director Stefan Ruzowitzky has expressed himself critical of the political situation in his home country in view of the current allegations of corruption.
“The arc is clearly overstretched,” said Ruzowitzky of the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” (weekend) with a view to the Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and his environment. “One can only wish Kurz and his party to recognize this as soon as possible and to draw conclusions.”
When asked whether the current situation in Austria, which has been used to scandals for years, is of a different quality, the filmmaker said: “Yes, there is a new kind of professionalism to implement measures to maintain power, to influence the press and the judiciary. That’s scary. “
Ruzowitzky (59) won an Oscar for best non-English language film in Hollywood in 2008 with the anti-Nazi drama “The Counterfeiters”. His current film “Hinterland” won the audience award at the Locarno festival.
In Austria, corruption investigations against Chancellor Kurz and his closest circle triggered a government crisis. As a coalition partner of the conservative ÖVP, the Greens now consider the head of government to be hardly sustainable. dpa
