Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann steps down

VIENNA: Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann on Monday stepped down as leader of the centrist coalition government and as head of his Social Democratic Party (SPO).

Faymann had been under pressure from trade unionists and the SPO youth wing for his tough stance on asylum laws and for the party's poor performance in a presidential election two weeks ago.

"To have majority (in the party) is not enough," a spokeswoman for Faymann quoted him as saying at a hastily convened news conference.

A Reuters photographer at the event said Faymann had announced he was stepping down.

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