Austrian Chancellor sworn in: Nehammer suggests change of strategy

Austria’s new Chancellor Nehammer has struck soft tones after being sworn in. He wants to convince people of his government’s corona policy through dialogue. A loosening of the lockdown should be discussed soon.

In just a few words, Austria’s newly sworn Chancellor outlined what now has priority for him in times of the pandemic: The virus is a burden on people and for many people the limit of reasonableness has been exceeded for many months, said Karl Nehammer.

“From my point of view, it is imperative to approach people, listen to them, take their worries and fears seriously and at the same time find solutions,” he said. The split is damaging all citizens of this country.

Praise to the predecessor

Last Saturday, more than 40,000 people demonstrated against the Corona measures in Vienna. Nehammer emphasized that he will continue to work trustfully with the coalition partner, the Greens: on Wednesday, the federal and state governments would discuss easing or lifting the hard lockdown, which has been in force for 14 days.

The politician of the ruling party ÖVP turned directly to his predecessor Alexander Schallenberg when officially handing over official duties. At the beginning of October he stepped in for Sebastian Kurz, who had resigned as Federal Chancellor. Schallenberg took over the post when the situation was difficult. “You yourself were challenged intensely as a person,” said Nehammer. The pandemic alone was more than stressful.

Warning from the Federal President

Ex-Federal Chancellor Schallenberg, who is returning to the Foreign Ministry after almost two months in office, repeated that he never wanted to become Federal Chancellor and that he took over the office in turbulent times. At noon, Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen swore in the new Federal Chancellor and several other cabinet members of the ÖVP in the Hofburg.

“Determined to combat the pandemic and its consequences are the government’s greatest tasks,” said Van der Bellen. Austria’s head of state urged people to regain the lost trust of the population through comprehensible, fact-based decisions.

Frequent changes of heads of government

The government must also provide information “in a comprehensible, joint communication,” said the Federal President, alluding to the coalition government’s corona statements, which have often been contradictory in recent weeks. “In this way, confidence in politics, which I believe has been shaken for many people in recent weeks, can be restored.”

For the Federal President, who has been in office since the beginning of 2017 and is now seen by many people in Austria as the only calm and calming pole during the frequent changes of government, Nehammer’s swearing-in was the fifth swearing-in of a head of government.