Austrian coalition govt can still work together

ZURICH: Newly installed Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said the country's ruling coalition is on "thin ice" but could still work together after his predecessor Sebastian Kurz quit last week.

Kurz stepped down a week ago at the behest of his junior coalition partner, the Greens, after prosecutors placed him and nine others under investigation on suspicion of breach of trust, corruption and bribery.

Schallenberg, also a member of Kurz's conservative OVP party, launched a media blitz over the weekend, giving interviews to 13 newspapers and saying he wanted to repair the shattered trust between the OVP and the Greens and to continue to govern until the next general election, due by 2024.