The ex-Chancellor has written about his time in politics. What is interesting is less what he says than how he does it.
“Let’s talk about politics” is the name of Sebastian Kurz’s first book, which he wrote with “Krone” columnist Conny Bischofberger. From March to mid-August 2022, the two had extensive talks “about the bright and the dark sides of top politics” and a lot more. About Niki Lauda, for example, who was a role model and advisor for Kurz. About his childhood, his principles, his encounters with Trump, Putin and Merkel and his future as an entrepreneur. In her foreword, she described the impression Bischofberger had of the 35-year-old during the time of the exchange with astonishing frankness. The image of the “Corpo Fechado” appeared before her eyes again and again. Afro-Brazilian religions know this term: “It describes a state in which the ‘closed body’ is supposed to become invulnerable with the help of rituals,” explains the journalist. “Similar to martial artists who can put themselves in a state where they even shut out pain. That’s how I experienced Sebastian Kurz. Always with the goal in mind, highly concentrated, protective of his inner life, he never seems to show weakness.”
And so you learn more about the person Sebastian Kurz on the first few pages than you will on the following 240 pages. Kurz tries to speak openly about his political rise (although he never intended to become a politician) and his competition. About Reinhold Mitterlehner, for whom he feels sorry, about Christian Kern and his intrigues, about the “always affable” Heinz-Christian Strache and Werner Kogler, who told him through the media that he was no longer fit for office.