Austrian Finance Minister and deputy chancellor Josef Proell announced his resignation today for health reasons.
'I am stepping down from all political offices,' Proell told a hastily-convened news conference in the capital Vienna. 'My decision is not against politics, but for my health and my family,' he added.
Proell, 42, was hospitalised last month with a pulmonary embolism, which would have been fatal had he not been rushed immediately to hospital via helicopter. The minister, who has previously suffered a thrombosis, had been expected to return to work after Easter.
Proell described his illness as a 'caesura' which gave him 'time to think'. 'I've talked with doctors about the risks and consequences of a pulmonary embolism and it's not compatible with politics,' he said.
'Against this background, I've decided to withdraw completely from politics. I cannot meet the demands as head of the Austrian People's Party, finance minister and deputy chancellor,' he said.
Proell was named deputy chancellor and finance minister in 2008 when the Social Democrat party emerged as the biggest party in the general election and formed a coalition with the conservatives.
Although there have been strains within the ruling coalition, the working relationship between Proell and Chancellor Werner Faymann has been seen as key to stability.
