installed new president Austria

vienna - Former Greens-leader Alexander Van der Bellen (73) is installed Thursday as the new president of Austria. After taking the oath, he held in his acceptance speech to the parliament in Vienna an impassioned plea for the European Union.

He spoke of a 'peace project', whose conservation is worth all the effort. Nationalism and 'Kleinstaaterei' may not be the answer to the current crises and problems. The greatest danger is, according to him 'that we let ourselves be seduced by simple answers. '

Van der Bellen is the first president of Austria, which does not come from the ranks of the nation's largest party, the social democratic SPÖ and ÖVP Christian Democracy. In December, he defeated his rival Norbert Höfer of the FPÖ, which is critical of the European Union and rejects immigration.

The installation was overshadowed by a crisis in the government coalition of SPÖ and ÖVP. The new president urged the parties to cooperate constructively. 'Politics should yield results,' he said.