After coalition negotiations with the SPÖ and NEOS failed, Karl Nehammer resigned as ÖVP leader. Now he is also giving up his position as Chancellor – after 1,131 days.
Nehammer took office with broad support from his party; in his first election as ÖVP chairman in May 2022, 100 percent of the votes were in his favor. Poor election results repeatedly led to speculation about the return of his predecessor Sebastian Kurz, who had brought electoral success to the People’s Party for years. After allegations of corruption, he avoided dismissal by the National Council by resigning.
Served slightly shorter than Short
It was Kurz’s second resignation after the National Council voted out the Turquoise Blue government following the Ibiza affair and the end of the Turquoise Blue government on May 27, 2019. At that time, a cabinet of experts led by Brigitte Bierlein took over government affairs. After the ÖVP’s election victory and negotiations on a coalition with the Greens, Kurz returned to the chancellery on January 7, 2021. In total he served 1,168 days.
The 52-year-old was at the top of the government for a slightly shorter time than his predecessor. The longest-serving Chancellor to date was Bruno Kreisky (SPÖ), who led the SPÖ’s sole government from April 1970 to May 1983 – just over thirteen years. Franz Vranitzky (SPÖ) has the second longest term in office with ten and a half years in the chancellery, ahead of Julias Raab (ÖVP) with eight and Werner Faymann (SPÖ) and Leopold Figl (ÖVP) with more than seven years each. Figl was sworn in in 1945 and was the first regular Chancellor after 1945.
Löger led the provisional government for six days
Karl Renner (SPÖ) had previously led the provisional government as ‘state chancellor’. At just over seven months, Renner was also one of the shortest-serving heads of government in the Second Republic. Only Brigitte Bierlein, interim chancellor after the Ibiza affair, was in office even shorter. Kurz’s immediate predecessor Christian Kern (SPÖ) lasted just over a year and a half.
The heads of government who, after their resignation, were provisionally charged with “continuing their activities” were not included in the ranking. Here Hartwig Löger carries the red lantern: the ÖVP Finance Minister intervened after Kurz was dismissed from office until Bierlein’s official government was sworn in – and was in office for only six days, from May 28 to June 3.
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.
