First Kurz government explained

Cabinet Name:First Kurz government
Cabinet Number:30th
Jurisdiction:Austria
Flag:Flag of Austria.svg
State Head Title:Appointed by
State Head:Alexander Van der Bellen
Government Head Title:Chancellor
Deputy Government Head Title:Vice-Chancellor
Deputy Government Head:Heinz-Christian Strache
Hartwig Löger (2019)
Current Number:13
Legislature Status:Majority coalition
Semi-technocratic minority cabinet (2019)
Election:2017 legislative election
Opposition Parties:Social Democratic Party
Freedom Party (2019)
NEOS
JETZT
Previous:Kern government
Successor:Bierlein government

The First Kurz government (German: Erste Bundesregierung Kurz or Kurz I for short) was the 30th Government of Austria in office from 18 December 2017 until 3 June 2019. It succeeded the Kern government formed after the 2017 legislative election. Sebastian Kurz, chairman of the centre-right Austrian People's Party, known by its initials in German as ÖVP, reached an agreement on a coalition with the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), setting the stage for Kurz to become chancellor of Austria—the youngest head of government in Europe—for the first time.[1]

In the wake of the May 2019 Ibiza affair, Kurz terminated the coalition agreement and called for a snap election, which was ultimately held on 29 September 2019, after some disagreements over the timing. Kurz announced that his government would run as a minority technocratic caretaker government in the interim.[2] However, on 27 May 2019, his government was dismissed by the National Council through a motion of no confidence, the first successful parliamentary vote of no confidence in the Second Republic.[3] On 3 June 2019, President Alexander Van der Bellen swore in a technocratic caretaker government led by Brigitte Bierlein, which held office until the new coalition government between the ÖVP and The Greens was sworn in. A coalition pact of the two highly dissimilar parties was jointly announced by Kurz and Green leader Werner Kogler on New Year's Day 2020.

The alliance of the conservative ÖVP with the Greens is unprecedented at the national level.[4] It emerged from three months of dogged bargaining following the September 2019 parliamentary election, which was won by the ÖVP and the Greens, while the scandal-ridden Freedom Party and the centre-left SPÖ both suffered major setbacks. The FPÖ has since parted ways with its former leader and vice chancellor, HC Strache, but has yet to recover from the legacy of the Ibiza affair and other scandals. Meanwhile, the ÖVP under Kurz had co-opted the anti-foreigner and anti-Islamic stance of the FPÖ and won over previous supporters of the FPÖ while The Greens made a remarkable political comeback by focusing on the core issues of climate change and transparency (open government and fight against corruption). The Greens, which had been thrown out of parliament in 2017 for failure to meet the 4% threshold under Austria's version of the proportional representation system, increased their vote share to an unprecedented level of almost 14% percent, in part at the expense of the traditional centre-left SPÖ, which had failed to adapt to changing times.

As a result of the unlikely partnership between the conservative ÖVP and the Greens, the new government was set to take the charge on combating climate change and is poised to spearhead pro-environment policies in Europe, while also continuing to pursue a hard line on immigration and internal security. The latter includes deportation of migrants and pretrial detention of persons deemed a risk to public safety.[5] In announcing his party's switch to an alliance with the Greens, Kurz declared that it is possible to protect both the environment and the country's borders; he asserted that both parties were able to realise their campaign promises in the joint government programme, which the Greens overwhelmingly ratified at a national party congress convened on 4 January 2020 in Salzburg.[6] [7] The Second Kurz government (dubbed Kurz-Kogler) was sworn in on 7 January 2020 by President Van der Bellen, who himself is an erstwhile leader of the Greens; Kogler serves as vice-chancellor.

Composition

PortraitName OfficeTook officeLeft officePartyFederal Home State

Leadership

Sebastian KurzChancellor of Austria
(2017-2019)
18 December 201728 May 2019ÖVP
Hartwig LögerActing Chancellor of Austria
(2019)
Vice Chancellor of Austria
(2019)
Minister of Finance
(2017-2019)
18 December 20173 June 2019ÖVP
Vice Chancellor of Austria
Minister of Civil Service and Sports
18 December 201722 May 2019 FPÖ
Eckart RatzMinister of the Interior22 May 2019 3 June 2019Independent
Herbert Kickl18 December 201722 May 2019 FPÖ
Karin KneisslMinister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs18 December 20173 June 2019Independent
Josef MoserMinister of Constitutional Affairs, Reforms, Deregulation and Justice18 December 20173 June 2019Independent
Johann LuifMinister of Defence22 May 2019 3 June 2019Independent
Mario Kunasek18 December 201722 May 2019
Heinz FaßmannMinister of Education, Science and Research18 December 20173 June 2019 Independent
(Born abroad)
Walter PöltnerMinister of Labor, Social Affairs, Health and Consumer Protection22 May 2019 3 June 2019Independent
Beate Hartinger-Klein18 December 201722 May 2019
Valerie HacklMinister of Transport, Innovation and Technology22 May 2019 3 June 2019Independent
Norbert Hofer18 December 201722 May 2019
Elisabeth KöstingerMinister of Sustainability and Tourism18 December 20173 June 2019
Margarete SchramböckMinister of Digital and Economic Affairs8 January 20183 June 2019
Juliane Bogner-Straußacting Minister of Civil Service and Sports22 May 20193 June 2019

Chancellery ministers

Gernot BlümelChancellery minister for the EU, Arts, Culture and Media18 December 20173 June 2019
Juliane Bogner-StraußChancellery minister for Women, Families and Youth18 December 20173 June 2019

State secretaries

Hubert FuchsState secretary in the Ministry of Finance18 December 201722 May 2019
Karoline EdtstadlerState secretary in the Ministry of the Interior18 December 2017 3 June 2019

See also: Federal Ministries (Austria).

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: 18 December 2017 . Kurz Set to Become Austrian Chancellor, Backed by Nationalists . Bloomberg . 18 December 2017.
  2. News: 20 May 2019 . Austria's Kurz Turns to Technocrat Cabinet as Populists Ousted. Bloomberg . 21 May 2019.
  3. Web site: Kabinett Kurz verliert Misstrauensabstimmung. orf.at. 27 May 2019 . de. 2019-05-27.
  4. Web site: Austria coalition deal is balance of far-right and environmental policies. Nada Bashir . Tara John. CNN. 2 January 2020 . 2020-01-05.
  5. Web site: Austria coalition deal is balance of far-right and environmental policies. Nada Bashir . Tara John. CNN. 2 January 2020 . 2020-01-05.
  6. News: Austria's Greens vote to enter government with People's party. Associated Press. 2020-01-04. The Guardian. 2020-01-05. en-GB. 0261-3077.
  7. Web site: Grüne in Österreich stimmen für Koalition mit ÖVP. tagesschau.de. tagesschau.de. de. 2020-01-05.