Austria's New Government Sworn in by Van der Bellen
Christian Stocker (ÖVP) was sworn in as Federal Chancellor by Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen on Monday morning at the Vienna Hofburg. The ÖVP chairman leads the first federal government formed by the People's Party, SPÖ, and NEOS. It has 14 members, plus there are seven state secretariats.
The swearing-in was not new territory for Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner, and Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig (all ÖVP), who were already represented in the same function in the black-green coalition. The previous State Secretary Claudia Plakolm (ÖVP) moves up to a ministerial position. The former Minister of Transport Jörg Leichtfried (SPÖ) takes the opposite path, now becoming State Secretary (in the Ministry of the Interior).
First Time in Government
All three party leaders - in addition to Stocker, the new Vice Chancellor Andreas Babler (SPÖ) and new Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger (NEOS) - are part of a federal government for the first time.
Federal President Van der Bellen expressed that he was "very pleased" that everyone had gone beyond their shadows in the negotiations. Remaining stubborn might have been tempting at times: "But being stubborn does not make a government."
He advised the government that it must support the economy, but also the welfare state. Additionally, peace in Austria and Europe must be strategically secured. He named "climate change" as one of the greatest threats of the time, which must not be postponed. The president wants "reasonable" regulations regarding migration and integration. Furthermore, there is a need to strengthen liberal democracy, which is threatened by populism and fake news. He wished the government a "fortunate hand" in these tasks.
Talks Before Swearing-In
Before the swearing-in, the previous government members had been relieved of their duties (in absentia). Van der Bellen had formed an impression of the new government members over the weekend through personal conversations and evidently found them suitable for office.
The government then proceeded together across the Ballhausplatz for the swearing-in about 20 minutes before 11 a.m. on Monday. There, ministers and state secretaries were already awaited by family members in the presidential office, as is customary on such occasions, who attended the ceremony.
According to protocol, the Federal Chancellor was sworn in first. Stocker was in office with the signing of the so-called certificate of appointment, that is, the decree of appointment, and the oath of office by Van der Bellen and the VP leader himself. Subsequently, the procedure was carried out for the other government members. Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP) was the only one to add the phrase: "so help me God" to the oath.
Further Swearing-Ins
For the Federal President himself, it was a routine act. Since Van der Bellen has been Federal President, he has sworn in ministers 155 times and state secretaries 21 times as of today.
This number will soon increase. Because after an amendment to the Federal Ministries Act, which will occur soon, those government members whose responsibilities are still changing will need to be sworn in for their new tasks.
Currently, they are only taking over the agendas of their predecessors, and since ÖVP, SPÖ, and NEOS have assigned various responsibilities to different departments than before, a corresponding legislative decision must be made. For example, the labor agendas will be separated from the economic department and assigned to the Ministry of Social Affairs. The future Minister for Women, Eva Maria Holzleitner (SPÖ), and the Chancellor's Office Minister Plakolm, responsible for families, were sworn in on Monday as ministers without portfolio.
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.