Austrian foreign minister Schallenberg to serve as the country’s interim leader

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Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg will serve as the country’s interim leader while the far-right Freedom Party attempts to put together a new coalition government, the president’s office said Wednesday.

Schallenberg, 55, will take on the duties of outgoing Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who announced his resignation over the weekend after his efforts to put together a coalition without the Freedom Party collapsed. Nehammer plans to step down on Friday.