Reinhold Mitterlehner said he did not feel he had full support from his party | Georg Hochmuth/AFP via Getty Images Austria’s Mitterlehner quits as vice chancellor and party chief Center-right party must now decide whether to stay in government or seek early election.

Austrian Vice Chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner announced Wednesday he would quit the post and also resign as leader of the center-right Austrian People's Party (ÖVP).

Mitterlehner, who will also resign as economy minister, said he did not feel he had full support from his party and also mentioned media criticism in his announcement.

"It is impossible to do government work in such a situation," he said at a press conference in Vienna.

The ÖVP is the junior partner in Austria's Social Democrat-led government, headed by Chancellor Christian Kern.

Mitterlehner has been vice chancellor and party leader since September 2014 but he said the current climate "did not make [the job] any fun."

It will be up to the party's new leadership to decide whether it continues in the current coalition or seeks an early parliamentary election.

Mitterlehner said he would hand over the party to a caretaker leader at a weekend meeting and resign from the government on May 15.

Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz is seen as the most likely successor to Mitterlehner as both vice chancellor and party leader. But Kurz said on Tuesday that the ÖVP leadership was not an appealing option when the party was in such disarray.