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Snap elections for Austria and Greece as EU Parliament vote claims first victims (Video)
by Alex Christoforou, The Duran:
The Duran’s Alex Christoforou and Editor-in-Chief Alexander Mercouris discuss Austria and Greece will be the first member states to hold snap elections after the EU Parliament vote.
Austria has its first woman chancellor after Brigitte Bierlein, its constitutional court president, agreed to serve as caretaker leader until September’s snap election.
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Austria has its first woman chancellor after Brigitte Bierlein, its constitutional court president, agreed to serve as caretaker leader until September’s snap election.
Ms Bierlein will head a technocrat government and replaces Sebastian Kurz, leader of the conservative People’s Party (ÖVP). His government lost a confidence vote in parliament this week after losing its junior partner, the far-right People’s Party.
The judge’s appointment is the latest twist in a drama that began two weeks ago when secret videos were released showing FPÖ leader Heinz-Christian Strache appearing to promise state contracts in exchange for secret campaign donations.
In the videos Mr Strache can be heard encouraging a woman posing as a Russian oligarch’s niece to buy a controlling stake in Austria’s most influential tabloid to secure positive coverage.
Mr Strache resigned, an FPÖ cabinet walkout followed, and the party backed an opposition heave against the minority Kurz administration.
On Thursday president Alexander Van der Bellen announced the appointment of the 69-year-old, viewed as a moderate conservative with no open political affiliations. After senior court positions she has been president of the Austrian Constitutional Court since 2003 and her term is due to expire next year.
Ms Bierlein said she was “surprised” to have been approached for the job but decided to take the plunge without much hesitation.
“Judges are not normally stuck for words but, I admit, this time it was different for me,” she said, in brief remarks at Vienna’s Hofburg palace. She promised to “gain the trust” of the country’s main political parties “and the confidence of Austrians”, and told the president she would “do everything within my power to earn the trust that you have put in me”.
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