A lawmaker from the far-right Freedom Party is elected as speaker of Austria's parliament

A lawmaker from nan far-right Freedom Party has been elected arsenic nan caller speaker of Austria’s parliament, weeks aft nan statement won a nationalist predetermination for nan first time

VIENNA -- A lawmaker from nan far-right Freedom Party was elected Thursday arsenic nan caller speaker of Austria's parliament, weeks aft nan statement won a nationalist election for nan first time.

Walter Rosenkranz becomes nan first personnel of nan Freedom Party to beryllium elected arsenic speaker, 1 of nan country's highest-ranking positions successful protocol terms. It has traditionally been taken by nan strongest party.

Rosenkranz, a lawyer and erstwhile leader of his party's parliamentary group who astir precocious served arsenic a personnel of nan Austrian Ombudsman Board, won nan support of 100 of nan 183 lawmakers successful nan caller parliament's inaugural session. No different statement fielded a campaigner but dozens of votes went to different lawmakers.

While a mostly of lawmakers stuck to contented successful making nan 62-year-old Rosenkranz speaker, nan Freedom Party isn't apt to beryllium portion of nan adjacent government.

On Tuesday, President Alexander Van der Bellen dispensed pinch a contented of giving nan first-placed party's leader nan task of forming a caller management aft nan Sept. 29 parliamentary predetermination produced a stalemate. Instead, he asked incumbent Chancellor Karl Nehammer to do so.

Whoever leads the adjacent government will request to build a conjugation to person a parliamentary majority.

But Nehammer’s blimpish Austrian People’s Party has said it wouldn’t activity pinch nan Freedom Party nether its leader, Herbert Kickl. The different 3 parties successful nan caller parliament said they wouldn’t activity pinch nan Freedom Party astatine all. And Kickl said nan Freedom Party would only spell into authorities pinch him arsenic chancellor.

Nehammer says he will effort to shape a three-party conjugation pinch nan center-left Social Democrats and 1 of 2 smaller parties, nan wide Neos aliases nan environmentalist Greens.

Rosenkranz was nan Freedom Party's campaigner successful nan 2022 statesmanlike election, finishing a distant 2nd down Van der Bellen.