Minister of Finance
However, in 2000 he returned to politics, when a coalition was formed between the Austrian People's Party and the Freedom Party. At that time, he was the youngest minister of finance ever to hold office in Austria. When the coalition broke up in 2002, Grasser left his party, but after national elections in November and the reestablishment of the coalition under the lead of a strengthened People's Party, Grasser again became minister, this time being nominated by the People's Party.
Grasser remains a controversial figure. While supporters argue that he successfully consolidated Austria's budget deficit, critics see him as incompetent and an opportunist. Grasser's policies and philosophy as a finance minister suggest a neoliberal stance. He is a self-proclaimed follower of the Austrian School of Economics. His immaculate appearance, his smooth-talking dynamism, and his yuppie antics have made him hugely popular with the public.
During the early year of his tenure as finance minister, he was generally perceived as the young and competent figure needed to shake up the traditional ways of the ruling parties that were becoming increasingly unpopular. From early on in Grasser's tenure as Finance Minister there have been recurring suspicions of backroom deals between Grasser and some of his political and business friends. The first major case was the affair behind the financing of Grasser's personal homepage in 2004.
Read more about this topic: Karl-Heinz Grasser
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