Austrian Interior Ministry hit by blackout, sparking political dispute

A power outage struck the Austrian Interior Ministry’s headquarters on Hintere Zollamtsstraße, plunging the building into darkness, locking doors and cutting telephone service. The blackout halted access for roughly 600 staff who had recently been relocated from the Minoritenplatz building. Technicians restored power within a short time, and the police directorate of Vienna took over handling public inquiries.

The incident became a point of partisan contention. Opposition Freedom Party (FPÖ) figures, including General Secretary Michael Schnedlitz, condemned the outage as evidence of the government’s loss of control over security. ÖVP National Council member Andreas Hanger dismissed the criticism as “fake‑news”, characterising the event as a routine power failure that any household experiences and accusing the FPÖ of exploiting it for political gain.