Christian Stocker is the chancellor of Austria and leader of the People's Party (ÖVP). His nickname is the Buddha of Ballhausplatz. He became acting party leader on January 5th 2025, after Karl Nehammer stepped down following a failed coalition attempt. Stocker had expected to resign from his job as party secretary-general that day and arrived at a leadership meeting in jeans; he emerged hours later in a blue suit to announce he would lead talks with the FPÖ.
After those talks also collapsed, he assembled the first three-way coalition in Austrian history with the Social Democrats and the liberal NEOS. He has curbed refugees' rights to family reunification and tightened gun laws following a mass shooting at a school in Graz which killed ten people. He has proposed spending cuts of €15bn to bring the budget deficit under control. He has called Herbert Kickl a threat to democracy and a security risk.
History repeats itself. That's one thing wrong with history.