Nehammer successor

Interim chancellor to be announced on Wednesday

The outgoing Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer(Bild: APA/HANS KLAUS TECHT)

Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen will appoint an interim chancellor as early as this week. Who it will be will be announced on Wednesday. As reported, the outgoing Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer will resign from office on Friday.

According to reports, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg and Constitutional Minister Karoline Edtstadler have the best chance of succeeding him temporarily. Neither of their offices would comment for the time being. The fact that the Foreign Minister has already held the position would speak in favor of Schallenberg. After the resignation of Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP), he took over as Chancellor on October 11, 2021 and resigned again on December 2. Kurz resigned at the time and Nehammer was appointed Federal Chancellor the following day.

As reported, Schallenberg no longer wants to be available as Foreign Minister under a Chancellor Herbert Kickl. He was still negotiating the foreign policy chapter in the coalition talks with the SPÖ and NEOS.

Karoline Edtstadler only recently withdrew from top politics to become a lawyer. She is considered a confidante of Kurz and was Minister of the Chancellery and Minister for Europe and the Constitution from 2020.

Other alternatives to Nehammer included Kurz, who has already withdrawn, and Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer. Hattmannsdorfer was a state councillor for social affairs in Upper Austria before moving into federal politics. The presidential chancellery did not want to comment on Tuesday. We will know more on Wednesday.