Assessment of Austria: “He will want to come back as Chancellor”

Even after his resignation, Kurz’s influence will remain great, in the opinion of ARD-Correspondent Neumaier. A farewell to politics is not to be expected. On the contrary: Kurz is already planning his comeback.

The resigned Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz will, according to the assessment of the ARD-Correspondent Nikolaus Neumaier continues to have great political influence. According to his own statement, Kurz wants to remain the head of the ÖVP and also become the leader of the parliamentary group. He will be there when the ministers meet, said Neumaier. “His word will continue to have weight.”

Await investigation

As for Kurz’s future, Neumaier continues to see him in politics, not in business. “He’s going to wait and see how the investigation goes against him. It may take until next year to see whether any charges will be brought.” If no charges are brought, Kurz is washed away anyway, said Neumaier. “My guess is that he definitely wants to return as Chancellor, as a triumphant”.

The question of his departure from politics should perhaps only be asked “when he is ten years older”. At the moment it looks like he is planning a comeback, Kurz has “left all doors open”. The question is when this can take place, said Neumaier.

Kurz will be succeeded by Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg. The 52-year-old has been jointly responsible for Austria’s foreign policy in top positions for years.

Different styles in dealing

According to Neumaier, Kurz and Schallenberg do not differ much in terms of content. “Schallenberg is in line with Kurz on issues of migration and the accession of the Western Balkans,” said Neumaier. The biggest differences would be in the style of dealing with one another. “Kurz and his supporters had a very aggressive style, which was also evident in the chats.”

Schallenberg, on the other hand, is a trained diplomat, says Neumaier. “You can’t imagine something like that from him, he won’t practice that.”