ALDE Party member NEOS entered into the Austrian federal government for the first time in their history, taking charge of key ministerial roles.
A new three-way coalition government was sworn in on 3 March, comprising of Austrian liberals, social democrats and Christian conservatives.
Beate Meinl-Reisinger, the party’s leader and main representative in coalition negotiations, has been appointed as Austria’s new Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Current Deputy Mayor of Vienna Christoph Wiederkehr, in charge of education, has been appointed as Minister of Education. Bettina Emmerling, already the chair of NEOS’ parliamentary group in the Vienna City Council, replaces him as Deputy Mayor.
Finally, current Member of the National Council Josef Schellhorn MP is the new State Secretary for Deregulation, as part of Meinl-Reisinger’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Almost 2,000 NEOS members attended an extraordinary party Congress on 2 March, approving the draft programme for government with a support of 94.13%.
Austrian liberals were able to ensure that their policy priorities on education, jobs and transparency were able to be fully included in the coalition government programme.
“Today we are starting to renew Austria because we must do the right thing for our country now. NEOS have shown that we are prepared to take responsibility for the Republic of Austria and all the people who live here. Our signature is clearly visible in the work programme,” said Meinl-Reisinger.
“Since our foundation, we have been fighting for better education in Austria like no other party. We have already shown in Vienna what NEOS can achieve in terms of responsibility, and now we want to do the same for everyone in Austria,” added Wiederkehr.
“We are entering this government as a team - united by one goal, driven by one vision and committed to our values. The measures for deregulation and the reduction of bureaucracy will be immediately noticeable for people and companies in the country,” concluded Schellhorn.
NEOS secured their best-ever performance in a federal election last September, winning 18 seats in the National Council with 9.14% of the popular vote.
Click here to read more on NEOS’ work programme for the new coalition government.
Photo: NEOS