Austria’s new Chancellor: who is Alexander Schallenberg?

He is expected to take his oath of office this Monday: After Sebastian Kurz resigns, Foreign Minister Schallenberg will be Austria’s new Chancellor. Who is the man?

Alexander Schallenberg has had an amazing career in recent years. According to his own statement, the office of foreign minister was not part of his life planning – now the top diplomat is to become the 16th Federal Chancellor of the Republic of Austria.

Today Schallenberg spoke to Austria’s Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen. He said only a few words beforehand: “A surprise for all of us. As it should be, I will go to the Federal President now, and then we will discuss everything else. Please understand, I will only communicate after the swearing-in.”

Worked for short at an early age

Schallenberg grew up as the son of a diplomat between India, Spain and France, later studying law. He then heads the legal department of the Austrian EU representation in Brussels for five years. Back in Austria, Schallenberg becomes press spokesman in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In this function, Schallenberg also works for the young Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, who makes him “Head of Strategic Foreign Policy Planning”. In 2017, Schallenberg will also briefly take him to the Chancellery, where he will head the Strategy and Planning department.

Ministerial office thanks to the Ibiza scandal

The now 52-year-old Schallenberg owes his next career leap to the Ibiza scandal. After the collapse of the ÖVP-FPÖ government, Schallenberg becomes foreign minister in the transitional government of Federal Chancellor Brigitte Bierlein. He will remain so even after Sebastian Kurz’s renewed election victory in autumn 2019.

Then on Saturday the surprise: Schallenberg should rise to the Chancellery after Kurz resigned. “It’s an enormously challenging job and time,” he says. “Not easy for either of us, but I think we show an incredible amount of responsibility for this country.”

In line with Chancellor Kurz’s line

The trained diplomat has rarely interfered in day-to-day politics. And if so, then in line with Sebastian Kurz, whose trust Schallenberg enjoys. For example on migration issues: In September 2020, Schallenberg underlined Austria’s stance not to accept a single person from the burned-down Moria slum camp on ORF television with the words: “I think we have to deemotionalize this debate, we have to rationalize it. And not in every case, when a ship turns up on the coast of Europe or there is an incident in a camp or an emergency, there is immediately the shouting distribution. That cannot be the solution, please. “

Schallenberg later regrets his choice of words, but on the matter he sticks to his stance: “I am clearly a man of conviction and that’s not populism at all.”

“We still have a lot to do”

Now Schallenberg will lead a government that includes the Greens, who are miles away from the ÖVP on migration issues. And after the recent upheavals around the person Kurz, the mood between the coalition partners is likely to have cooled even further.

Schallenberg said very diplomatically in a television interview at the end of September: “They are two very different parties that form a coalition. This is not a love affair. Sometimes there is a crunch in the framework. But the cooperation actually works very well and we still have a lot ahead of us the next few years. “