Austria will soon have a new chancellor, two months after having changed … The Austrian conservative party appointed the Minister of the Interior as its new leader on Friday
Karl Nehammer, who will thus become the next chancellor, after the departure of Sebastian Kurz.
“Today I was unanimously appointed by the leadership of the ÖVP as chairman of the party and consequently as candidate for the post of chancellor,” Karl Nehammer told reporters in Vienna. “I am extremely grateful, it is an honor and a privilege that I did not expect,” he added.
“Loyal” to his training
Born in Vienna in 1972, with a three-day beard and graying temples, Karl Nehammer first made a career in the army, where he was appointed lieutenant. The son-in-law of a star television presenter, he then branched out into political communication, before being elected deputy in 2017 and then appointed minister in January 2020.
Considered by commentators as “loyal” to his training, married with two children, he joined the government without being close to Sebastian Kurz. Uncompromising on the issue of the right to asylum, he was criticized by NGOs for having deported children in the middle of the night and wanted to send Afghans back to Kabul while the Taliban were at the gates of power.
A vast cabinet reshuffle
This 49-year-old politician announced on the occasion a vast cabinet reshuffle adopted “in consensus” with the ecologists, to whom the right has been allied to govern since January 2020. “Our goal is now to quickly begin discussions with the president Alexander Van der Bellen, who will be responsible for validating the next government, said the new leader.
On Thursday, Sebastian Kurz announced he was leaving politics, barely two months after leaving the head of government. He remained in the direction of his training, of which he also chaired the parliamentary group, but he explained that he saw “a new chapter” being started, saying he was “worn out” by the recent accusations by the prosecution.