Former Austrian far-right leader, Heinz-Christian Strache, declined to contest for the EU seat in the European Parliament, on Monday.
Strache promised to return to politics as soon as he has uncovered who organised the video sting that toppled him in May.
He had stepped down as Vice-Chancellor and Freedom Party (FPOe) chief in mid-May, following the publication of a covert video that was recorded on Ibiza.
In the video, he offered infrastructure and media deals to a woman posing as the niece of a Russian oligarch.
However, the 50-year-old politician won a seat in the EU elections shortly afterwards, as his supporters cast 45,000 preferential votes to catapult him from the 42nd place on his party ticket to the EU legislature.
“Strache has taken the right step,’’ designated FPOe chief, Norbert Hofer, said in reaction to Strache’s announcement.
“The legal consequences and the background of the Ibiza video have to be cleared,’’ he added.
While Strache has filed criminal complaints against the unknown persons, who entrapped him, he is subject to an investigation by Austrian anti-corruption prosecutors.
“My political life, which has always been focused on Vienna and Austria, is definitely not over,’’ Strache said.
His decision to waive the seat came after the FPOe disclosed on Friday that his wife Philippa will get a prime spot on the party ticket for the Austrian elections in September, all but guaranteeing her a seat in the lower house of Parliament.
dpa/NAN
