Austria's Kurz quits politics, leaving ruling conservatives in disarray

FILE PHOTO: Austria's former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz attends a session of the parliament in Vienna, Austria November 17, 2021. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger

VIENNA (Reuters) - Former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz stunned Austria and left a power vacuum in his governing conservative party on Thursday by announcing he was leaving politics, after coming under criminal investigation for suspected corruption.

Kurz, 35, who was one of Europe's youngest leaders, quit as chancellor in October at the behest of his coalition partner, the Greens, after prosecutors launched the graft inquiry, though he remained head of his People's Party (OVP) and a lawmaker.