BRIGITTE BIERLEIN SET TO BE AUSTRIA’S FIRST FEMALE CHANCELLOR

VIENNA (DPA) 30 MAY 2019- Austrian President Alexander van der Bellen said on Thursday that constitutional judge Brigitte Bierlein will be Austria’s new chancellor, after a video scandal led to the collapse of the previous government.

Bierlein has been the president of the Constitutional Court since 2018, and is set to be the country’s first female chancellor.

Former chancellor Sebastian Kurz ended his coalition and called fresh elections earlier this week.

The move was triggered by the publication of a covert video that showed a leader of his coalition partner, the Freedom Party, offering infrastructure and media deals to a woman posing as the niece of a Russian oligarch.