[ad_1]
The 52-year-old Alexander Schellenberg succeeded Sebastian Kurtz, but the opposition warned that “the system will not change”.
Alexander Schellenberg was sworn in as Austria’s new prime minister, succeeding Sebastian Kurz, who resigned due to a corruption scandal.
At the swearing-in ceremony of Schellenberg on Monday, Austrian President Alexander Van der Belen stated that the government needs to restore public trust that has been eroded by Kurz’s allegations of misconduct.
Van der Bellen said: “We all hope that the government can resume work and work together to push things forward.”
Schellenberg belongs to Kurz’s conservative Austrian People’s Party, which leads the Austrian coalition government.
The 52-year-old served as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Michael Linhart, a 63-year-old professional diplomat, was sworn in at a ceremony on Monday.
“The Kurz system has not changed”
These appointments were made after Kurz announced on Saturday that he would resign to resolve the political crisis that broke out last week.
He and nine other people-including senior aides-are under investigation for alleged breach of trust, corruption and bribery.
The Green Party is the junior partner of the Kurtz conservatives. In response to the scandal, they demanded that the 35-year-old be beheaded.
Kurtz, who denied wrongdoing, put forward Schellenberg’s proposal, and the Green Party accepted the move.
Schellenberg has always been loyal to Kurtz and shared his tough stance on the issue of curbing immigration, but his background is diplomacy rather than party politics.
Austria’s political opposition stated that the new leader will only continue to implement the orders of his predecessor.
“All opposition parties agree that the Kurz system has not changed,” Kai Jan Krainer of the Social Democratic Party told ORF Radio. He was a member of the Parliamentary Investigation Committee, which investigated the possible existence of the former Kurz government. Of corruption.
“He still has everything in control, and the appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer Schellenberg is part of the Kurz system,” said Jan Krener.
Kurz maintains the party leadership role
Kurz and his close partners are accused of trying to use rigged polls and friendly media reports, and funded with public funds to ensure that he rises to the leadership of the party and the country.
Kurz became the leader of his Austrian People’s Party in 2017 and then became prime minister.
Although he will step down as prime minister, he will continue to be the leader of the party and head of its parliamentary group.
President Van der Belen, who was in charge of the transition period, apologized to the nation on Sunday because of the impressive text messages sent by Kurz and other conservative officials involved in the prosecutor’s investigation.
In some exchanges widely reported by the Austrian media, Kurz refuted his public statement and made a clear cynical move behind the scenes.
He expressed regret over the wording of parts of the resignation speech on Saturday.
[ad_2]
Source link