Austrian FM sworn in as interim Chancellor

Vienna, Jan 10 Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg was sworn in on Friday as the country's interim Chancellor, following the recent resignation of Karl Nehammer.

Schallenberg will lead the caretaker government while continuing his role as foreign minister until a new government is formed.

The swearing-in ceremony was conducted by Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen, who expressed gratitude for Schallenberg's willingness to take on the dual responsibility during this challenging period.

According to Austrian news agency APA, Schallenberg plans to visit the European Union in Brussels early next week.

The 55-year-old diplomat has served as Austria's foreign minister since 2019 and briefly held the Chancellorship for about two months in 2021 after the resignation of former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.

Austria fell into political uncertainty after Nehammer announced his resignation over the weekend as both Chancellor and chairman of the People's Party. His departure came after the collapse of coalition talks between his party, the Social Democratic Party, and the NEOS party.

President Van der Bellen on Monday tasked Herbert Kickl, leader of the far-right Freedom Party, with forming a new government. The Freedom Party came first in Austria's parliamentary election in September but had been shunned by the other parties in the previous coalition talks.

The coalition negotiations between the Freedom Party and the People's Party began on Thursday, however, Nehammer, a vehement critic of Kickl, stepped down from the People's Party's leadership in response.

While the Freedom Party has previously served as a junior coalition partner, it has never led an Austrian government. Schallenberg has publicly stated that he would not be part of a government led by the Freedom Party.

In the September parliamentary election, the Freedom Party secured around 29 per cent of the vote, ahead of the People's Party with 26.3 per cent and the Social Democratic Party with 21.1 per cent. Despite winning the parliamentary presidency, the Freedom Party had been unable to secure coalition partners to form a government.

In October, Van der Bellen tasked the People's Party with forming a government. However, coalition talks led by the party dragged on from mid-November until their sudden collapse, Xinhua news agency reported.

Karl Nehammer resigned as Chancellor and chairman of the People's Party after the negotiations failed. Nehammer had consistently opposed forming a coalition with the Freedom Party under Kickl.

The People's Party then appointed Secretary-General Christian Stocker as interim leader. Though Stocker has been a sharp critic of Kickl, he said that his party was open to coalition negotiations with the Freedom Party.

Stocker defended the shift, citing the need to get a stable government and avoid wasting time with election campaigns.