Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen will appoint an interim chancellor this week. The winner will be announced on Wednesday. As reported, outgoing Chancellor Karl Nehammer will leave office on Friday.
According to reports, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg and Constitutional Minister Karoline Edtstadler have the best chance of becoming temporary successors. The two offices declined to comment for the time being. Schallenberg would benefit from the fact that the secretary of state has held this position before. After Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) resigned, he took over as Chancellor on October 11, 2021 and resigned again on December 2. Kurz resigned at the time and the next day Nehammer was appointed chancellor.
As reported, Schallenberg no longer wants to be available as Foreign Minister under Chancellor Herbert Kickl. In the coalition talks with the SPÖ and NEOS, he was still negotiating the foreign policy chapter.
Karoline Edtstadler recently retired from top politics to become a lawyer. She is considered a short-term confidante and as of 2020 served as Minister of the Chancellery and Minister for Europe and the Constitution.
Other Nehammer alternatives were Kurz, who had already canceled, and Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer. Before entering federal politics, Hattmannsdorfer was a social councilor in Upper Austria. The presidential office declined to comment on Tuesday. We’ll know more on Wednesday.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
