Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announced his resignation, less than two months after taking office. The surprise announcement comes after his predecessor Sebastian Kurz announced his departure from politics this morning.
Schallenberg’s resignation further shakes the conservative Oevp party, ruling with the Greens. Suspected of corruption, former Chancellor Kurz had left his post at Schallenberg. Today he left the leadership of the party and the parliamentary group of the OVP, but also announced his retirement from politics. Meanwhile, Austria is facing a serious pandemic situation. Yesterday, parliament extended the lockdown imposed to reduce covid-19 infections by ten days.
–
Schallenberg’s declaration
deepening
Sebastian Kurz, the rise and fall of the young Austrian chancellor
–
“It is not my intention and it was not my aim to assume the function of party leader,” Schallenberg said in a written statement, noting that, in his opinion, the office of chancellor and party leader “must be combined into one. but no”. According to the Austrian press, Interior Minister Karl Nehammer is Kurz’s likely successor at the head of the party. According to the newspaper “Kronen Zeitung”, Nehammer could be appointed chancellor tomorrow.
–
He took office on 11 September
deepening
Who is Schallenberg: the card
–
Schaellenberg was inaugurated as chancellor on 9/11 after Kurz was forced to resign following the opening of a corruption investigation against him. A long-time diplomat, the son of an ambassador, 52-year-old Schallenberg became foreign minister in 2019 as an independent but later joined the OVP.
– .
