Austria's Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg gives a speech at a press conference in Vienna, Austria, Oct. 11, 2021. (Xinhua/Guo Chen)
Austria's former foreign minister, Alexander Schallenberg, was sworn in as the country's new chancellor on Monday after his predecessor, Sebastian Kurz, resigned over corruption allegations.
VIENNA, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- Austria's President Alexander Van der Bellen on Monday swore in Alexander Schallenberg as the country's new chancellor.
Schallenberg, 52, has been Austria's foreign minister since 2019.
He was sworn in at a ceremony held at the presidential office, along with Michael Linhart, now the new foreign minister who has been serving as the Austrian ambassador to France.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is seen at a press conference in Vienna, Austria, on Oct. 9, 2021. (Photo by Georges Schneider/Xinhua)
"We all expect that the government will go back to work and move things forward together," Van der Bellen said in a brief address, adding that the government now has the "great responsibility of restoring trust."
For his part, Schallenberg said he would work closely with Sebastian Kurz and asserted that the accusations against the former chancellor were wrong.
Kurz resigned on Saturday over corruption allegations. He had proposed Schallenberg as his successor.
According to Kurz, Schallenberg, a career diplomat, had the diplomatic skills necessary to rebuild trust between the parties. ■