Austria's third leader in two months takes office mid-lockdown

Designated Chancellor and leader of the People's Party (OVP) Karl Nehammer attends the swearing-in ceremony of a new government at Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria December 6, 2021. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger

VIENNA (Reuters) - Austria's third conservative chancellor in two months, Karl Nehammer, took office on Monday seeking to bring the coalition government out of months of scandal-tainted turmoil and guide the country out of its coronavirus lockdown.

Nehammer, 49, was sworn in by President Alexander Van der Bellen just after 1 p.m. (1200 GMT). As interior minister since last year, he was the enforcer of then-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's hard line on immigration and of four national lockdowns. He is now the first head of government of the post-Kurz era.