Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg to become caretaker chancellor

Schallenberg has served as Austria's foreign minister under outgoing chancellor Karl Nehammer since 2021.

Transcript

00:00Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg will be named caretaker chancellor, taking

00:06over from outgoing Karl Nehammer, who quit after centrist coalition talks collapsed.

00:13Schallenberg previously acted as Austrian chancellor in 2021, after former chancellor

00:18Sebastian Kurz stepped down amidst corruption allegations.

00:24Austria's conservative OVP-led government will remain in power as caretakers until a

00:29new coalition is formed.

00:31Herbert Kicill and his far-right Freedom Party secured victory in recent parliamentary elections,

00:37surpassing Nehammer's OVP, which came in second.

00:41However, the OVP refused to enter a coalition with the FPO under Kicill, leading to a political

00:48stalemate.

00:50Efforts to form a governing alliance without the FPO failed by early January, prompting

00:55Nehammer to announce his resignation last Saturday.