AUSTRIA'S chancellor designate, Mr Viktor Klima, reluctantly accepted the job at the helm of government after Chancellor Franz Vranitzky's unexpected weekend exit from politics but said it did not quite fit in with his plans.
Mr Klima (49), having shunned the public spotlight for days, offered only one sentence to comment on his meteoric rise through the ranks of the Social Democratic Party and Austrian politics to government head in less than five years. "I did have a different plan for my life, but I guess I'm going to do it," he told Austrian television late on Saturday over a mobile telephone. The line then broke up and there was no further word from him. A media conference he had called was cancelled.
Dr Vranitzky (59), speaking to reporters on Saturday after announcing his resignation and withdrawal from political life, said he had finally managed to twist the arm of the Finance Minister, Mr Klima, to accept.
Dr Vranitzky, Europe's second longest serving leader after the German Chancellor, Dr Kohl, looked visibly relieved to be handing over after years of political wrangling with his coalition partner, the People's Party leader, Mr Wolfgang Schuessel, who was clearly feeling slighted by not being informed of the change.
Political commentators heralded Mr Klima's appointment as a chance to bring a much needed breath of fresh air to politics.
At a valedictory news conference Dr Vranitzky said: "I think my greatest success was to take Austria into the European Union." He added that one of his greatest challenges was to cope with the changing face of Europe in the post Cold War period. He will also be remembered for acknowledging on a visit to Israel in 1993 that Austria shared responsibility for atrocities committed by Hitler's Nazis.
On the debit side, he said his party might have failed to react quickly enough to the fast growing popularity of Mr Joerg Haider's far right Freedom Party.
The Social Democrat vote slumped to an all time low in European elections last October, dipping below 30 per cent, while support for the far right has soared to nearly 28 per cent.
The leadership change followed a bitter row with the conservatives over the sale of Creditanstalt, Austria's second biggest bank, which had threatened to destroy the coalition.
"On Tuesday it will be the 10th anniversary of this coalition government. It is an appropriate time to go," Dr Vranitzky said. He was looking forward to drinking a glass of fine wine and reading a good book.