Austria’s new prime minister is sworn in after former prime minister resigns due to corruption investigation
2021-10-12 10:08:22Source: China News Network
Chinanews, October 12, according to the “Central News Agency” report, on the 11th, Austrian President Van der Belen appointed Foreign Minister Schalenberg as the new prime minister to replace Kurz, who had previously resigned.
At about 1 p.m. local time, the 52-year-old Schellenberg was sworn in under the witness of Van der Belen. Van der Bellen stated that the government now bears a “great responsibility for restoring trust.”
Kurtz’s center-right “People’s Party” and its coalition government’s ruling partner, the Green Party, hope to get rid of the scandal and look forward to completing the term of office until 2024. However, the aftermath of Kurtz’s corruption investigation may continue to ferment. .
After the Austrian prosecutors raided several locations related to the People’s Party on the 6th, Kurz began to bear the pressure to step down, and part of this pressure came from the Green Party.
The prosecutor announced an investigation into Kurtz and nine other people, alleging that they used public funds to ensure that the media reported favourably during the 2016-2018 corrupt transactions.
Kurz resigned on the 9th, but he denied wrongdoing and reiterated that the accusations against him were “untrue”. He said: “I will be able to clarify this matter. I am pretty sure of this.” Kurz said to the people. The party leader nominated Schellenberg as the new prime minister.
Schellenberg is 52 years old. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Austrian Transitional Government in June 2019, and continued to serve as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the second Kurz Cabinet in January 2020.
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