Friday, December 03, 2021
Successor to Schallenberg
Nehammer becomes Austrian Chancellor
Austria gets the third chancellor this year. After Sebastian Kurz and Alexander Schallenberg, the current Minister of the Interior, Karl Nehammer, takes over. He is also being discussed as the new head of the conservative ÖVP.
Austria’s Interior Minister Karl Nehammer from the ÖVP is taking over the post of Chancellor from the resigned Alexander Schallenberg, according to the APA news agency. In addition, the 49-year-old will be the head of the ÖVP.
In October, then Chancellor Sebastian Kurz resigned under the impression of corruption investigations. But he remained chairman of the conservative ÖVP and became its parliamentary group leader in the National Council. The then Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg succeeded him as Chancellor.
On Thursday, Kurz announced his retirement from all political offices. He justified this with the birth of his child last week. Surprisingly, Schallenberg then announced his resignation as Chancellor – he said he wanted to clear the way for a new start in terms of personnel. Chancellorship and ÖVP chairmanship should therefore be in one hand again.