Roundup: Austrian new chancellor vows to boost investment

Austria's new Chancellor Christian Kern on Thursday in his inaugural address to the parliament pledged that he would boost both private and public investment to tackle the problem of low economic growth and high unemployment.

"Political content has been replaced by tactical opportunism, and that is exactly what we have to break," Kern said as a criticism of past governments.

The former head of the Austrian Federal Railways said he planned to propose a "new deal" for the country, which includes encouraging private investors as well as recovering "the scope for public investments."

"The biggest obstacle for economic growth is the bad attitude," he said.

Kern said he especially wanted to strengthen the engineering and car design sector.

However, when it came to the refugee issue, Kern was vague. "The refugee issue has to be resolved with respect for human dignity, without forgetting social and public safety," he said. "This field is the most unsuitable to act in with symbolic politics. We should try to control our emotions."

Thereby, the chancellor declared himself against a populist approach. "We don't want to cede minds and hearts to cheap populism. We want to nourish hope and not the concerns and fears of the people," Kern said, calling for a "policy of belief in the future."

In his address to the media on Tuesday, Kern indicated he was optimistic about tackling the tasks that lay before his new government, which has seen several cabinet reshuffles. The new chancellor also said Austria must "return to the overtaking lane and become fit for the future."

He said the impetus behind his decision to become the leader of the country was based on a lack of substance in the politics of the Social Democratic Party (SPO) in recent months, which would have ended in what he called a "collision."

Kern was confirmed by SPO as the next chancellor for the country last Friday, following the resignation of Werner Faymann earlier this month. Endit