BERLIN - Austria’s main centre-right party and the environmentalist Greens are likely to announce a coalition deal Wednesday night that would return ex-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz to power. The 33-year-old Kurz’s People’s Party embarked on negotiations with the Greens in mid-November, weeks after it emerged as by far the biggest party from an election. Kurz’s return to power would see him take back the title of the world’s youngest sitting head of government from new Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, who is 34. Assuming the coalition talks are successful, the new Austrian government is likely to be significantly different from Kurz’s previous alliance with the far-right Freedom Party. Kurz led a coalition with the Freedom Party for 17 months until May, when a video showing then-Freedom Party leader Heinz-Christian Strache offering favours to a purported Russian investor prompted Kurz to pull the plug.

Source: thestar January 01, 2020 12:56 UTC