Vienna, 5 January 2025 (dpa/MIA) - The conservative Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) has appointed its general secretary as its new leader after Chancellor Karl Nehammer announced his resignation from the post following the collapse of coalition talks over the weekend.

Senior ÖVP representatives agreed on Sunday to appoint Christian Stocker, an experienced politician seen as an adept crisis manager, to lead the party after Nehammer steps down, according to ÖVP sources.

Nehammer announced late on Saturday that he would resign from his post as chancellor and ÖVP leader after talks on what would have been a historic three-way coalition with the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) and the liberal NEOS party failed.

It initially remained unclear who would lead the government in a caretaker capacity until a government coalition is formed.

One aim of the weeks-long talks had been to keep the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), which emerged as the clear winner from September's parliamentary elections, out of power.

Nehammer had always ruled out cooperation with the FPÖ, but his resignation may have paved the way for his party to begin talks on forming a government with the far right.

Another option is for Austria to hold new elections.