Politics Austria: Schallenberg is acting chancellor
Austria has a new acting chancellor. Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen has entrusted Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) with the duties of head of government.
10.01.2025, 12:33
SDA
The head of state said that the minister currently serving for the longest time is now at the head of the so-called provisional federal government. The previous Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) had announced his resignation in response to the failure of his efforts to form a centrist coalition.
Three months after the parliamentary elections, Austria is still searching for a new coalition. Now the right-wing FPÖ and the conservative ÖVP have begun alliance negotiations. The ÖVP had previously been unable to agree on a program with other parties.
The conservatives had long rejected cooperation with FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl. After Nehammer's withdrawal, however, the party made a remarkable change of course.
Schallenberg does not want to be part of an FPÖ-led government. The 55-year-old has been Austria's chief diplomat since 2019 - with a brief interruption: he also took over the chancellorship for a few weeks at the end of 2021 during a political transition phase. He now has the task of continuing the current cabinet of ministers from the ÖVP and the Greens on an interim basis.
