Austria: Schallenberg is sworn in as Federal Chancellor at 1 p.m. – politics

Two days after Sebastian Kurz resigned from the office of Federal Chancellor, Austria got a new head of government. Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen will swear in the 52-year-old former Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg as Chancellor this Monday around 1 p.m. Schallenberg and Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler want to continue the coalition of the conservative ÖVP and the Greens, which has been in power since January 2020. Despite the recent government crisis, there is a solid foundation for it, they assured.

The Federal President made both of them personally responsible for ensuring that the alliance worked together in an objective and constructive manner for the benefit of the Austrians. With the change of Chancellor, the government crisis was over, said Van der Bellen. However, this does not mean that everything is in perfect order. “Because in the last few days the citizens’ trust in politics has been massively shaken once again.” It is up to everyone to bear the political responsibility. But it is particularly up to the government to restore this confidence.

Kurz, who was suspected of corruption, resigned on Saturday evening. That was the condition for the Greens to hold on to the alliance. Schallenberg has been jointly responsible for Austria’s foreign policy in top positions for years. The multilingual, internationally experienced diplomat is just as tough on migration issues as his predecessor in office. The new foreign minister is to be Michael Linhart, diplomat and previous ambassador to France. Linhart was Secretary General in the Foreign Ministry under the then Minister Sebastian Kurz.

Opposition: The “Short System” will be retained

The government crisis was triggered by investigations by the Economic and Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. Close colleagues of the Chancellor are suspected of having bought well-meaning reporting in a media company in order to pave the way for Kurz from 2016 to the party leadership and to the Federal Chancellery. Kurz is also listed as a suspect.

When he left, Kurz again emphasized his innocence. He gave up his office out of responsibility for the country. After the coalition of the ÖVP and the Greens came to an end, the chaos of four-party cooperation between the Greens, the SPÖ, the liberal Neos and the right-wing FPÖ threatened. Kurz himself changes from the Chancellery to Parliament to the seat of the parliamentary group leader of the ÖVP. He also remains party chairman. The opposition criticized this step because the 35-year-old would continue to be an extremely influential political figure and the “Kurz system” would be preserved.

The opposition wants to deal with the new corruption allegations against the 35-year-old in a committee of inquiry. The spokesman for the SPÖ and FPÖ announced on Sunday. An application for this will probably soon be submitted to the National Council.

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