With the destination USA, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (VP) started his first non-European trip after the pandemic on Sunday. The fact that the “everyday foreign policy contacts” are now starting again is “part of the return to normality,” said Kurz on the flight to New York.
The highlight of the trip today is a meeting with UN Secretary General Antnio Guterres. On Tuesday, the Chancellor will address the United Nations Economic and Social Council on the subject of sustainability.
Talk about sustainability
Austria is “very successful” in implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and has advanced to sixth place worldwide. At the UN headquarters, Kurz also meets the Austrian diplomat Volker Trk, who is Guterre’s “right-hand man” as Vice Secretary-General.
The appointments in New York include a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art run by Max Hollein from Austria and the handover of citizenships to descendants of Holocaust victims. A conversation with the former New York mayor and unsuccessful Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg is also planned. A visit to the incumbent US President Joe Biden is not planned. Most recently, Kurz was received by Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump in the White House in February 2019. A second meeting planned in March of the previous year fell victim to the pandemic.
In the second half of the week, the Federal Chancellor plans to stay in the Rocky Mountain state of Montana to take part in an informal conference with global decision-makers from business, media and politics at the invitation of ex-Google boss Eric Schmidt. During his more than one week absence, Kurz is represented by Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler (Greens).
The chancellor becomes a father
With a report from his private life, Kurz triggered numerous reactions over the weekend. The Chancellor’s partner, Susanne Thier, is expecting offspring at the end of November or beginning of December, as the couple announced. “We are very happy and grateful that there will be three of us soon,” the 34-year-old posted on Facebook. With the announcement, the wedding rumors about the long-time couple intensified again.
One of the first to congratulate was Kogler, who tweeted “I’m happy for you”. Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen was also pleased about the “good news”. Party chairman Pamela Rendi-Wagner congratulated the SP. For Neos boss Beate Meinl-Reisinger, herself a mother of three, is about to face his “greatest responsibility and task”.
Next to Kurz, Finance Minister Gernot Blmel (VP; for the second time) is in front of fatherly joys, Integration Minister Susanne Raab (VP) is on maternity leave, Justice Minister Alma Zadic (Green) has already become the mother of a son in January.
