Austria will hold snap election this year, chancellor says | Reuters

VIENNA Austria will hold a snap parliamentary election this year, probably in the autumn, Chancellor Christian Kern told ORF TV on Sunday, hours before the conservative party in his coalition was due to meet to choose a new leader.

Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, who is widely expected to take over as leader of the conservative People’s Party, has said he wants to hold a snap election, which Kern opposes.

“There will definitely … be an election, I assume in the coming autumn,” Kern told ORF, adding that he did not think carrying on with a minority government was a viable option.

(Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Catherine Evans)