Vienna, Jan 8 || Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg will serve as the country's interim Chancellor following Karl Nehammer's recent resignation from the post, Austrian news agency APA reported on Wednesday.
Schallenberg will lead the caretaker government after Nehammer's formal resignation on Friday until a new government is formed, APA quoted the office of Austrian President Alexander van der Bellen as saying.
Schallenberg, 55, has served as Austria's foreign minister since 2019.
Van der Bellen on Monday tasked Herbert Kickl, leader of the far-right Freedom Party, with forming a new government after recent coalition talks without the far-right party collapsed.
Van der Bellen announced the decision following a one-hour talk with Kickl around noon on January 6. Speaking at a press conference, the president said that the political landscape had shifted, as the People's Party was now ready to negotiate a coalition under Kickl's leadership.
Kickl expressed confidence in finding viable solutions and affirmed willingness to take the responsibility, Van der Bellen was quoted as saying by the APA.
The Freedom Party has previously served as a junior coalition partner but has never led an Austrian government.