Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who has been in office for a good five months, is now also party leader of the conservative ÖVP. At an extraordinary federal party conference on Saturday, 100 percent of the delegates voted for him. However, he was also the only candidate. The 49-year-old accepted the election.
The ÖVP has been in a politically difficult situation for some time. Investigations are underway against various ÖVP top politicians on suspicion of corruption, and the party’s polls have fallen sharply. A few days before the party meeting, Nehammer had to reshuffle the cabinet after two ministers resigned.
Nehammer’s environment recently said that he wanted to give the party a “courage injection”. “It’s also about regaining the trust that has been lost to some extent,” said the Chancellor small newspaper from Friday. About 600 delegates were entitled to vote among the more than 1,000 guests at the party congress in Graz.
Nehammer’s predecessor, Sebastian Kurz, now works for US investor and billionaire Peter Thiel
The ÖVP has governed in an alliance with the Greens since the beginning of 2020. The coalition is considered stable. His predecessor Sebastian Kurz resigned as Chancellor in October 2021. He had been investigated on suspicion of corruption. He retired from politics and now works for the US investor and billionaire Peter Thielwho is close to former US President Donald Trump.
Nehammer was also last internationally because of his surprise visit to Russian President Vladimir Putin in the headlines. The meeting went without a concrete result.