Short-term Foreign Minister Michael Linhart is likely to switch to the ambassadorial post in Berlin after his replacement. The 63-year-old career diplomat revealed this in an APA interview. The Foreign Minister’s office had been “a lot of fun” for him, but the move to the German capital was “a new challenge” that he was looking forward to very much. In his own words, Linhart does not harbor a grudge for the short term in office. He had only been in office for 56 days.
Despite the unexpectedly quick replacement, his relationship with his predecessor and successor, Alexander Schallenberg, who has returned from the Federal Chancellery to the Foreign Ministry, and with the new Prime Minister Karl Nehammer (all ÖVP) are by no means clouded. “It didn’t suffer at all. We had a good exchange and an excellent handover. ” Of course, he would have liked to continue the job of foreign minister “if the circumstances so required,” admitted Linhart. But now he is looking forward to “the new challenge”.
It is probably in diplomats’ genes “that you change jobs quickly and deploy where you are needed,” said Linhart. “It has been the case several times for me that I dropped out and started a new job. This is also the case now. I am pleased that I can now support Foreign Minister Schallenberg in a different role. ” And Germany is one of the most important countries in Europe, “with a new government, where you can very easily establish new contacts.”
The ex-foreign minister stated that his final appointment had to be approved “by the committees”. “But I have the qualifications for the post and I would like to do it. So it will go in that direction. ” Linhart took stock of the fact that he traveled to 13 destinations in his eight-week era. He also deepened the focus on topics such as the EU expansion in the Western Balkans, which Austria had already set by Schallenberg. As part of the continuity of Austrian foreign policy, Linhart was convinced that he would take it up again.
In the APA conversation, the 63-year-old also remembered his time as Secretary General in the Foreign Office (2013-2018), during which he also worked closely with the then Foreign Minister and later Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP). “He set strong accents that I supported. I got to know him as a team worker, but he can also listen, ask questions, but then also make decisions. ” Linhart was convinced that Kurz would clear up the allegations made against him. “With such accusations, however, there is also enormous pressure that can almost destroy a person.” Therefore, he has full respect for Kurz’s withdrawal. Linhart did not want to overestimate the chats, which cast the image of the resigned Chancellor and ÖVP boss in a bad light. After all, “everyone has emotions somewhere.”
The ÖVP must now show that it has a program “that we want to credibly implement,” said Linhart, who had given up the post of ambassador in Paris in October to move to the head of the Foreign Ministry. Then she will regain the trust of the population again. The experienced diplomat does not believe that the domestic political calamities and multiple changes at the top of the government in the recent past have damaged Austria’s image abroad. “We are still seen as a country with deep roots in Europe and a reliable partner.”
With regard to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Linhart saw no acute danger of war. “We are still a long way from here.” Even if the situation is tense. A dialogue is now required: “It is important that you approach each other, sit down at a table and talk to each other. That is also our approach. ” This also applies to the situation in Belarus, said Linhart also with regard to the conference held in Vienna at the end of November on the subject. “We wanted to contribute to the discussion about the democratization process.” (APA / red)
