VIENNA: Alexander Schallenberg, a long-time diplomat, was sworn in as chancellor of Austria on Monday, two days after Sebastian Kurz resigned in the face of a corruption inquiry. President Alexander Van der Bellen, who presided over the ceremony,said: "We all expect that the government will now go back to work and move things forward together."
Schallenberg moves to the chancellery after having held the post of foreign minister since 2019. He is the son of a diplomat and grew up in India, Spain and France.
Austria's political upheaval began last week, when it was announced that 35-year-old Kurz and several others were under investigation on allegations of misuse of public funds.
Kurz's decision to quit meant the governing coalition between his conservative Austrian People's Party (OeVP) and the leftist Greens will continue. The Greens had threatened to pull out of the coalition if Kurz stayed on as chancellor.
Schallenberg and Kurz worked together for years. The new chancellor takes a restrictive a stance on migration issues just as his predecessor and has sometimes echoed Kurz' anti-EU notes.
Kurz is under investigation over accusations government money was used to pay for positive media coverage while he was serving as foreign minister in 2016.
Anti-corruption investigators searched the offices of Kurz, his OeVP party, the Finance Ministry and a media house on Wednesday.
The former chancellor denies any wrongdoing but bowed to political pressure and resigned on Saturday evening. He asked Van der Bellen toname Schallenberg as his replacement.
Kurz, however, wants to remain OeVP leader and move to parliament as parliamentary group leader. The opposition criticized this move,saying he will remain an extremely influential political figure.
Career diplomat Michael Linhart, 63, is the new foreign minister. Hemost recently served as ambassador in Paris. Before that he served asgeneral secretary in the Foreign Ministry.
Meanwhile, the Greens, the junior partner to Kurz's conservatives, had demanded Kurz's head after he and nine others including senior aides were placed under investigation last week on suspicion of varying degrees of breach of trust, corruption and bribery. Kurz, who denies wrongdoing, will remain head of his party and become its top lawmaker in parliament.
Schallenberg is a career diplomat and close ally who is a relative newcomer to politics. Critics say he is unlikely to be his own man. He has declined to comment until after he is sworn in. President Alexander Van der Bellen said the government needed to regain public trust shaken by the investigation.
"The rearranged government now has a great responsibility not just to successfully continue this government's projects but also responsibility for restoring the public's trust in politics," Van der Bellen said as he swore in Schallenberg and the new foreign minister, Michael Linhart. Van der Bellen, who oversees periods of transition, apologised to the nation on Sunday for the impression given by text messages sent by Kurz and other conservative officials that are part of prosecutors' investigation. - Agencies
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