Austria: Interim ministers sworn in after video scandal

Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen, leaves after delivering a speech to the Austrian citizens at Hofburg palace in Vienna, Austria, Tuesday, May 21, 2019. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is set to face a no-confidence vote in parliament next week after his governing coalition collapsed over a corruption scandal. (AP Photo/Michael Gruber)

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, of the Austrian People's Party, OEVP, walks down stairs after a meeting at the Hofburg palace in Vienna, Austria, Tuesday, May 21, 2019. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has called for an early election after the resignation of his vice chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache from the Freedom Party spelled an end to his governing coalition. (AP Photo/Michael Gruber)

VIENNA – Austria's president has sworn in new, technocratic ministers to replace politicians from the far-right Freedom Party who left the government amid a scandal surrounding its leader, but it remains unclear whether Chancellor Sebastian Kurz will survive a no-confidence vote next week.

Austria faces early elections in September after the conservative Kurz's coalition with the Freedom Party collapsed. Heinz-Christian Strache quit as vice chancellor and party leader after a video surfaced showing him appearing to offer favors to a purported Russian investor.

President Alexander Van der Bellen urged the interim ministers on Wednesday to contribute to "Austria taking a constructive role in the European Union." They include Interior Minister Eckart Ratz, who formerly headed one of Austria's top courts.

Parliament is to vote Monday on an opposition no-confidence motion against Kurz.