VIENNA: New Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg emphasised his pro-European stance in a government statement to parliament on Tuesday, as his conservative ruling party tries to recover from a corruption scandal that brought down his predecessor.
On issues raging from the Covid-19 pandemic and global economic competition, to the climate crisis and migration flows, the European Union "continues to be our central frame of reference and the decisive political lever for us," Schallenberg said.
He will travel to Brussels this week for talks with EU Council President Charles Michel and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Europe has been watching the political turmoil in Vienna since the government was plunged into crisis last week.
Prosecutors accused chancellor Sebastian Kurz of using taxpayer money in 2016 to buy positive media coverage and manipulate polls in hisf avour as part of a scheme to burnish his image at a time when he was serving as foreign minister and seen as a rising conservative star.
Kurz, who frequently attracted the attention of Brussels with his criticism of the EU, stepped down as chancellor on Saturday night and picked long-time diplomat Schallenberg as his replacement.
Kurz denied any wrongdoing but said he was resigning in order to save the coalition between his centre-right People's Party and the leftist Green party. The Greens had demanded Kurz's departure.
Schallenberg said nothing to parliament about the investigation against Kurz, nor did he announce any plans to fight political corruption.
The scandal has delivered a blow to voter support for the People's Party, which is still being led by Kurz, a survey showed.
In a representative survey of 1,526 Austrians for the Kronen Zeitung newspaper, 26 per cent would support the party with Kurz as its top candidate if a parliamentary election was held today. Recently, the number had stood at over 30 per cent. The People's Party is now on par with the opposition Social Democrats in terms of support.
Meanwhile, Austrian authorities on Tuesday made a first arrest in a corruption probe that toppled chancellor Kurz, local media reported, holding a woman for allegedly destroying evidence. One of a series of scandals that dogged Kurz's two successive governments, the latest affair revolves around partially faked opinion polls paid for with taxpayer money and fed to a tabloid to paint Kurz in a favourable light.
The woman arrested Tuesday is a pollster who authorities said last week was under investigation for corruption.
She is suspected of having deleted data from the hard disk of her computer just before a raid, daily Der Standard reported.
Prosecutors declined comment, citing "ongoing investigations".
Last Wednesday prosecutors raided several locations linked to the ruling People's Party (OeVP) over allegations that between 2016 and 2018 money from the finance ministry was used to pay for surveys. Prosecutors say that Kurz and nine other individuals, including the pollster, as well as three organisations, are under investigation over the affair. - dpa
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