Sebastian Kurz has been sworn in as the.....>

AUSTRIA: Sebastian Kurz has been sworn in as the head of a new gov't by

President Alexander van der Bellen.

- Follows 3 months of negotiations between Kurz's centre-right People's Party

(OVP) and centre-left Greens. Together the two parties will hold 97 of 183 seats

in the National Council, above the 92 required for a majority. First time Greens

have been in gov't in Austria.

- OVP had governed with right-wing Freedom Party (FPO) before the September 2019

election, but gov't collapse following corruption scandal involving FPO leader. 

- With junior coalition partner switching from right-wing nationalists to social

democratic environmentalists, we would expect to see the Austrian gov'ts policy

priorities shift somewhat, away from limiting immigration and towards tackling

global warming. 

- Could see a more expansionary budget stance from the gov't, with plans to make

Austria carbon neutral by 2040 likely to prove costly.