Austria to appoint 27 year old foreign minister.

[Duque de Bragança]

Is it really important that Austria have an experienced foreign minister?  Does Austria like, do anything important from a foreign relations standpoint?

They might not want somebody as experienced as Kurt Waldheim indeed.

[Ideologue]

Is it really important that Austria have an experienced foreign minister?  Does Austria like, do anything important from a foreign relations standpoint?

Keeps Sweden from dominating central Europe.

[Liep]

We had a 27 year old tax minister. He lasted for about a year.

[Phillip V]

Heh. You say that as if becoming a politician is something commendable.

Well, he does qualify for a minister's pension afterwards. So I'd say he's set for life.

What is yearly compensation and then pension benefits?

[Admiral Yi]

Is it really important that Austria have an experienced foreign minister?  Does Austria like, do anything important from a foreign relations standpoint?

Bars transit to American troops during unpopular invasions of Middle Eastern countries. 

[Scipio]

Well, he's no Metternich.

Come on. We were all thinking it.

[Syt]

Heh. You say that as if becoming a politician is something commendable.

Well, he does qualify for a minister's pension afterwards. So I'd say he's set for life.

What is yearly compensation and then pension benefits?

Currently €16,000 x 14 as salary. Pension will depend on how long he's in office. But 4 years guarantees him 50% once he's 65 (which, admittedly is a long time away), and can reach 80% after 15 or 20 years, IIRC. He already has three years as state secretary. Let's say he does the full 20 years. At that time he'll be 44 ... enough time to get a cushy job through political friends (not unusual in Austria's tightly knit network of politics and business) for the next 20 years till retirement.

[Syt]

Is it really important that Austria have an experienced foreign minister?  Does Austria like, do anything important from a foreign relations standpoint?

Yeah, that's what I thought, too. He will probably get to hobnob with all the international organizations in Vienna, though (OPEC, IAEA, OSCE, other UN agencies etc.).

I will say in his favor that he had a decent stint as State Secretary for Integration. He had pretty realistic views (not too extreme to either left - "all's peachy" or right - "the immigrants destroy Austria") and a very common sense approach to things.

[Admiral Yi]

The way you post vernacular English gives me a boner Syt.

[jimmy olsen]

The way you post vernacular English gives me a boner Syt.

Deviant! 

[11B4V]

Austria's new foreign minister is this strapping young 27 year old:



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebastian_Kurz

Sebastian Kurz (born 27 August 1986) is an Austrian politician and currently the Secretary of State for Integration. He is a member of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP). On December 12th 2013, he was designated as the new Minister for Integration, Europe and International Affairs of Austria.

Kurz was born in Vienna and brought up in the city district of Meidling, where he is still living. He entered the Bundesgymnasium und Bundesrealgymnasium Erlgasse in 1996 and after his final exam in 2004 Kurz completed the obligatory military service. In 2009 he was elected chairman of the youth branch of the Austrian People's Party. Between 2010 and 2011 he was member of Vienna's city council. In April 2011 Kurz was appointed to the newly created post of State Secretary for Integration (which is part of the Ministry for Internal Affairs. At Austria's general election in 2013 he was elected member of parliament.

So he's already been part of the previous government for 3 years. He will be the youngest foreign minister in the EU.

Where were you when you were 27?

I was in Germany, working a job I didn't care for and pondering whether to move to Austria to live my dream of being a writer.

TEH ANTI-CHRIST

[Valmy]

Well, he's no Metternich.

Come on. We were all thinking it.

Well he might be.  He is about half the Prince's age coming into office.

How strange that the Habsburg Monarchy did a better job at vetting their foreign ministers.  Granted it was actually an important job back then.

[Syt]

The way you post vernacular English gives me a boner Syt.

What?

[The Brain]

The way you post vernacular English gives me a boner Syt.

What?

[Admiral Yi]

What?

I was trying to express my admiration for your idiomatic English.  Perhaps I did not express that sentiment previously with my habitual laser sharp precision.