2023-10-12 08:53:00
“After 25 years in the EU Parliament, I will no longer stand as a candidate in the coming elections. This is not an easy decision for me,” he told media representatives in a short-term personal statement on Thursday. He left his political future open. He will not be competing with his own list for the time being.
The 65-year-old justified this step with the rift between him and his party. In the past, Karas had repeatedly strayed from the party line and sometimes publicly criticized the federal party’s course. On Tuesday, Karas also criticized the role of the People’s Party in Europe or its position on asylum and migration. He also criticized various “sham debates”, such as the one initiated by ÖVP boss and Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer regarding enshrining the right to cash in the constitution.
The past few months have also been “humanly disappointing”. The way the federal party dealt with him was “unworthy” of a state-supporting party. Karas lamented the style that had taken hold publicly.
Karas entered the EU Parliament in 1999 for the People’s Party. He led the ÖVP delegation from 2006 to 2009 and from 2011 to 2019. In January 2022, the native of Lower Austria was elected First Vice-President of the European Parliament. He previously held this position from 2012 to 2014 and from 2019 to 2022.
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