Austria Politics

FILE -Austria's Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg speaks with the media as he arrives for a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Brussels, Dec. 16, 2024.

VIENNA (AP) — Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg will serve as the country's interim leader while the far-right Freedom Party attempts to put together a new coalition government, the president's office said Wednesday.

Schallenberg, 55, will take on the duties of outgoing Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who announced his resignation over the weekend after his efforts to put together a coalition without the Freedom Party collapsed. Nehammer plans to step down on Friday.

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