Austria's new leader defends Kurz as opposition calls him Kurz's puppet

FILE PHOTO: Austria's designated Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg and successor of Sebastian Kurz walks along the street after a meeting with President Alexander Van der Bellen in Vienna, Austria October 10, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

VIENNA (Reuters) -Austria's new Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg pledged on Monday to work closely with his predecessor Sebastian Kurz, who quit https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/austrias-kurz-says-stepping-down-chancellor-2021-10-09 in the face of corruption allegations, fuelling opposition assertions that the new leader will simply do Kurz's bidding.

The Greens, the junior partner to Kurz's conservatives, had demanded Kurz's head after he and nine others including senior aides were placed under investigation last week on suspicion of varying degrees of breach of trust, corruption and bribery.