Austrian chancellor to remain in government coalition despite his minister’s controversial EU vote

BERLIN (AP) — Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer has said that his conservative Austrian People’s Party would remain in the current government coalition with its Green party junior partner. That’s even though the environment minister, who is from the Green party, voted in a European Union vote on Monday in favor of the so-called Nature Restoration plan that Nehammer has opposed. Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler’s vote came after months of domestic political debate. It had infuriated the senior partner in the coalition government — the Austrian People’s Party — ahead of a national election set for late September. But Nehammer said later that he has “the responsibility to ensure an orderly path” until the election.