VIENNA (Reuters) -Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg will take over as caretaker chancellor on Friday from Karl Nehammer, who quit when centrist coalition talks collapsed last weekend, President Alexander Van der Bellen’s office said on Wednesday.
On Monday Van der Bellen tasked the far-right Freedom Party (FPO), which came first in September’s parliamentary election with roughly 29% of the vote, with forming a coalition government after three- and then two-party talks aimed at assembling one without the FPO failed.
The current conservative-led government is serving in a caretaker capacity until a new government is formed.
The handover to Schallenberg, who already served as chancellor for two months in 2021, will take place on Friday at 11 a.m. (1000 GMT), Van der Bellen’s office said in a statement.
FPO leader Herbert Kickl confirmed on Tuesday evening that he had called Nehammer’s interim successor as leader of the conservative People’s Party (OVP), Christian Stocker to formally invite the OVP to coalition talks.
Stocker is due to give a statement to the media at 2 p.m..
(Reporting by Francois Murphy and Madeline Chambers; Editing by Bernadette Baum, William Maclean)
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