Austria president tasks Kurz with forming new government

20 Oct, 2017 11:37 / Updated 7 years ago

Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen has formally tasked conservative leader Sebastian Kurz with forming a new government. The Austrian People’s Party finished first in last weekend's election, and its likely coalition partner is the right-wing, anti-immigration Freedom Party. Kurz said after meeting the president on Friday that he wants to put together a government “that has the courage and determination to bring about real change in Austria.” Kurz, 31, who is foreign minister in the outgoing government, is on track to become Europe’s youngest leader.