Now it is certain: Minister of Labor and Economy Martin Kocher will fill the position of governor of the National Bank that will be vacant next year. Major General Peter Vorhofer is quickly appointed by the turquoise-green government as crisis coordinator.
The staff package will be decided on Tuesday by circular resolution in the Council of Ministers, government circles announced on Tuesday evening.
Political struggle
The first step towards resolving the political battle over positions was taken last week when the coalition reached an agreement on the appointment of Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP) as Austrian EU Commissioner.
Now comes the important new appointment to the National Bank’s Board of Directors: Kocher will, as expected, succeed OeNB Governor Robert Holzmann in September 2025, and Edeltraud Stiftinger will become Deputy Governor from 1 December 2024. Josef Meichenitsch will also join the Board of Directors until next year, and Thomas Steiner may remain on the Board of Directors.
Also new appointments in the judiciary
Major General Peter Vorhofer will be the new chief crisis coordinator. This government advisor was established as part of the Crisis Security Act that was passed in 2023. Vorhofer is intended to provide strategic advice to the federal government in the Federal Chancellery.
The government recommends that Federal President Nikolaus Bachler be appointed as Senate President of the Administrative Court (VwGH). Andreas Kumin will remain a judge at the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The decision on the composition of the Board of Directors of the Financial Markets Authority has not yet been taken. Here, WKÖ Deputy General Secretary Mariana Kühnel was considered the favourite, but the Greens rejected this according to media reports.
The blockade in filling the Designation Council at the Ministry of Justice, where the terms of office of several members or alternate members had already expired at the beginning of 2023, was also resolved. Michael Danek and Kurt Schmoller were appointed as members, as well as other alternate members.
Nine vacant judge positions at the Federal Administrative Court (BVwG) will also be filled. Most recently, the judges’ association had pressed for the vacant appointments.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
