(ANSA-AP) - VIENNA, 01 OCT - Heinz-Christian Strache, the former Austrian vice chancellor at the center of a scandal that brought down the country's last government, said Tuesday that he is suspending his membership in the far-right Freedom Party and ending his political career amid anger over its poor showing in a snap election. Strache led the party for 14 years until May, when a video showing him offering favors to a purported Russian investor triggered the collapse of conservative Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's government. Strache also faces an investigation for suspected breach of trust over the alleged billing of private expenses to his party, which contributed to its weak election performance on Sunday. The party won around 16% of the vote, 10 percentage points fewer than in Austria's 2017 election, as supporters either switched to Kurz's center-right People's Party or stayed home. Strache on Tuesday renewed his denial of any wrongdoing, but said he was getting out of politics to protect his family and prevent splits in the party. "I am announcing with a heavy heart that I am suspending my membership in the Freedom Party until further notice and until legal clarification of the accusations against me," he said. "I am not only suspending my party membership but, as of today, also ceasing all political activity and not seeking any political function," he added in a statement to reporters in Vienna. Strache's announcement came ahead of a meeting of the Freedom Party's leadership and as some figures in the party raised the possibility of throwing him out. (ANSA-AP).