Trump-wary Austrian chancellor elected as ÖVP leader
The conservative Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) gave a landslide endorsement to Chancellor Christian Stocker as party leader at its conference in Vienna on Saturday.
Receiving some 98% of the votes, the 65-year-old lawyer underscored his distance from the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) - the winner of parliamentary polls in the autumn - which, according to Stocker, has a penchant for Donald Trump.
FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl's role model is the US president, said Stocker.
"But I am not a partner for an Austria that is 'Trumped up'," said the Chancellor in a speech that largely ignored the country's ongoing recession and massive budget deficit.
Following the collapse of talks between the FPÖ and ÖVP, Stocker formed a government with the Social Democratic Party SPÖ and the liberal NEOS at the beginning of March.
He had already been the party's acting leader since early January, when Karl Nehammer resigned as ÖVP leader and chancellor, citing his rejection of coalition negotiations with Kickl.
Stocker, known as pragmatic and level-headed, took over the task.
His rise from local to national politics came late: he entered parliament in 2019 and became Secretary General of the ÖVP three years later.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Britons accused of hiding cocaine in Angel Delight face death penalty in Bali
Three British people accused of smuggling cocaine hidden in Angel Delight sachets are facing the death penalty in Bali. Jonathan Christopher Collyer, 38, and Lisa Ellen Stocker, 39, were arrested on Feb 1 after being stopped at Bali's international airport with 17 packages of the drug that weighed nearly a kilogramme in total, prosecutors said. They appeared in court in Denpasar on Tuesday, alongside Phineas Ambrose Float, 31, who was allegedly due to receive the packages and arrested a few days later. Mr Collyer and Ms Stocker, who are reported to be a couple, were stopped by security at the X-ray machine after 'suspicious' items were detected in their suitcases. They were taken to a separate area, where staff found cocaine in blue plastic packages labelled 'Angel Delight' in Mr Collyer's luggage. More cocaine was found in seven plastic bags in Ms Stocker's suitcase. The drugs were brought from England to Indonesia with a transit in Doha International Airport in Qatar, prosecutor Made Dipa Umbara said. Mr Umbara told the court that cocaine seized from the trio was worth an estimated 6 billion rupiah (£271,000). The group had successfully smuggled cocaine into Bali on two previous occasions before being caught on their third attempt, said Ponco Indriyo, the deputy director of the Bali police narcotics unit. After the charges were read out, the panel of three judges adjourned the trial until June 10, when the court will hear witness testimony. The defendants and their lawyers declined to comment to reporters after the hearing. The three Britons could face the death penalty under Indonesia's strict drug laws, although it has upheld a moratorium on the death sentence since 2017. Convicted drug smugglers have in the past been executed by firing squad. The British embassy in Jakarta did not immediately respond to a request for comment. President Prabowo Subianto's administration has moved in recent months to repatriate several high-profile inmates, all sentenced for drug offences, back to their home countries. Serge Atlaoui, a Frenchman, returned to France in February after Jakarta and Paris agreed a deal to repatriate him on 'humanitarian grounds' because he was ill. In December, Indonesia took Mary Jane Veloso, who was found guilty of drug trafficking in 2010, off death row and returned her to the Philippines. It also sent the five remaining members of the 'Bali Nine' drug ring, who were serving heavy prison sentences, back to Australia. According to Indonesia's ministry of immigration and corrections, 96 foreigners were on death row, all on drug charges, before Veloso's release. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Brits face death for Bali 'Angel Delight' drug plot
The trial of three British nationals alleged to have smuggled cocaine disguised as packets of Angel Delight into Indonesia has begun. Jon Collyer, 38, and Lisa Stocker, 39, were arrested at Bali's international airport in February after being caught with 994g of cocaine, according to Balinese authorities. The pair appeared in court alongside Phineas Float, 31, who was allegedly due to receive the packages and was arrested a few days later. All three defendants, who are from Hastings and St Leonards in East Sussex, could face the death penalty – the heaviest punishment for taking part in a drug transaction under Indonesian law. It is alleged that Mr Collyer and Ms Stocker were caught with 17 packages of cocaine, with a value of roughly £300,000. The BBC's US partner CBS has quoted the AFP news agency as saying Balinese authorities believe the cocaine was hidden in packets of Angel Delight, a powdered dessert mixture. A journalist from the news agency at the court in Bali said a verdict was not expected until a later date. The British embassy in Jakarta did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Indonesia hands out severe punishments for drug smuggling and has previously executed foreigners, but has upheld a temporary halt on the death sentence since 2017. Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto's administration has moved in recent months to repatriate several high-profile inmates, all sentenced for drug offences, back to their home countries. Frenchman Serge Atlaoui returned to France in February after Jakarta and Paris agreed a deal to repatriate him on "humanitarian grounds" because he was ill. In December, Indonesia also took Mary Jane Veloso off death row and returned her to the Philippines. It also sent the five remaining members of the "Bali Nine" drug ring, who were serving heavy prison sentences, back to Australia. According to Indonesia's Ministry of Immigration and Corrections, 96 foreigners were on death row, all on drug charges, before Veloso's release. Speaking exclusively to BBC South East in February, Sheiny Pangkahila, the lawyer representing Mr Collyer, Ms Stocker and Mr Float, said, if convicted, they could each face between 15-20 years in an Indonesian prison. The trial continues. Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@ or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250. Lawyer of Brits facing Bali drug charges speaks out
San Francisco Chronicle
26-05-2025
- San Francisco Chronicle
A court has acquitted Austrian ex-leader Sebastian Kurz of making false statements
VIENNA (AP) — A court in Vienna on Monday acquitted former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz of making false statements to a parliamentary inquiry into alleged corruption in his government, reversing a verdict from last year in which Kurz was given a suspended prison sentence. A panel of judges at Vienna's upper state court acquitted Kurz after a short appeal hearing, the Austria Press Agency reported. The case centered on Kurz's testimony to an inquiry that focused on the coalition he led from 2017, when his conservative Austrian People's Party formed a coalition with the far-right Freedom Party, until its collapse in 2019. Prosecutors accused the 38-year-old of having given false evidence in June 2020 regarding his role in the setting up of a holding company, OeBAG, which administers the state's role in some companies, and the appointment of his former close confidant Thomas Schmid to its leadership. In February 2024, Kurz was found guilty of making false statements about the appointment of the company's supervisory board, though not about that of Schmid. He was given an eight-month suspended sentence.
