Christian Stocker Sworn In as Austria's Chancellor, Leading First Three-Party Government Since 1940s
The 64-year-old lawyer assumes leadership after protracted coalition talks, tasked with addressing economic challenges and curbing far-right influence.
- Christian Stocker, a previously low-profile politician, has become Austria's chancellor following months of coalition negotiations after the September election.
- Stocker leads Austria's first three-party coalition government in decades, composed of the conservative People's Party, Social Democrats, and liberal Neos.
- The coalition aims to navigate Austria through a recession, rising unemployment, and budgetary constraints while introducing stricter asylum policies.
- The far-right Freedom Party, which won the most votes in the election, remains in opposition after its coalition talks with the People's Party collapsed.
- Stocker, seen as pragmatic and steady, faces the challenge of maintaining unity within a fragile coalition as Austria's political landscape shifts.