A lawmaker from the far-right Freedom Party is elected as speaker of Austria's parliament
A lawmaker from the far-right Freedom Party has been elected as the new speaker of Austria’s parliament, weeks after the party won a national election for the first time
VIENNA (AP) — A lawmaker from the far-right Freedom Party was elected Thursday as the new speaker of Austria's parliament, weeks after the party won a national election for the first time.
Walter Rosenkranz becomes the first member of the Freedom Party to be elected as speaker, one of the country's highest-ranking positions in protocol terms. It has traditionally been taken by the strongest party.
Rosenkranz, a lawyer and former leader of his party's parliamentary group who most recently served as a member of the Austrian Ombudsman Board, won the support of 100 of the 183 lawmakers in the new parliament's inaugural session. No other party fielded a candidate but dozens of votes went to other lawmakers.
While a majority of lawmakers stuck to tradition in making the 62-year-old Rosenkranz speaker, the Freedom Party isn't likely to be part of the next government.
