Vice Chancellor Loger to lead gov't for a few days: Austrian president

Vice Chancellor Hartwig Loger (OVP) is to lead the government on an interim basis, until a new chancellor is found to lead the government until the new election in September, announced President Alexander Van der Bellen Monday evening.

Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen gives a press conference in Vienna on May 27, 2019. [Photo: AFP/Alex Halada]

The president said that he would dismiss the federal government at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday. However, he will entrust the government with the continuation of its duties, under the leadership of Loger, who is being deployed as Chancellor for a few days, "a sort of provisional" -- until the new transitional government stands.

The timetable will also allow Loger to attend the informal Summit of European Heads of State and Government in Brussels on Tuesday evening.

After the dismissal of Sebastian Kurz and his ministers, Van der Bellen must soon propose a chancellor and a cabinet that enjoy the confidence of a majority in the National Council. The current situation is a first in the Second Republic.

Kurz was combative in his first appearance after losing the no-confidence vote in parliament. Until the election in autumn "we will fight," said the outgoing chancellor before supporters in the OVP Party Academy, "I'm still here."

"Today, parliament has decided, but at the end of the day, in September, the people are deciding in a democracy," Kurz called to his supporters, who received him with defiant "Chancellor Kurz" chanting.

Kurz has promised President Van der Bellen a "proper handover to the transitional government".