Christian Stocker, the current General Secretary of the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP), has been elected as the party’s interim leader following the resignation of Chancellor Karl Nehammer. Stocker, born in 1960 in Wiener Neustadt near Vienna, is a trained lawyer.
Nehammer stepped down as both chancellor and ÖVP leader after coalition negotiations failed for the second time, plunging Austria into political uncertainty.
The far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), which won the parliamentary elections in September, has yet to secure a chance to form a government. Stocker has expressed openness to coalition talks with FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl.
“The voices within the People’s Party opposing a coalition with Herbert Kickl have grown quieter,” Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen remarked. Kickl is scheduled to meet with Van der Bellen tomorrow morning, though it remains uncertain whether he will be tasked with forming a new government.
For now, Karl Nehammer will continue as caretaker chancellor.
“A political crisis is gripping Austria,” commented ORF analyst Peter Unger.
