Sebastian Kurz, the leader of Austria’s People’s party, arrives at a polling station during snap elections in Vienna on Sunday. Austria held snap elections after a corruption scandal caused the dramatic collapse of the previous right-wing coalition government. Photo: AFP

The leader of Austria's conservatives ­Sebastian Kurz was sworn in on Tuesday as the world's youngest democratically elected leader as the head of an unlikely coalition with the Greens following the collapse of his previous alliance with the far-right.

Vowing to "protect the climate and the borders," the 33-year-old has become chancellor of a government - called "exotic" and "unlikely" by Austrian media - that marks the first time the Greens have been in a national government in the Alpine country.

Kurz's People's Party (OeVP) and the Greens agreed last week to govern together after the last administration with the far-right fell apart in a corruption scandal. Both the OeVP and the ecologist party made key gains in September's snap polls.

The alliance aims to please both sides by pushing for Austria to be carbon neutral by 2040 and also continuing previous strict anti-immigration measures.

Some observers think that if successful the alliance could become a model for other European countries as nations across the continent grapple with populist sentiments but also climate change.

Kurz - whose conservative OeVP has been in government for more than three decades - has defended the undertaking as combining "the best of both worlds."

The OeVP has 10 ministers in the new coalition, while the Greens have four with its party chief Werner Kogler, 58, taking on the vice chancellorship.

Among the ministers being sworn in, more than half are women, including the defense minister. Many are in their 30s and 40s. 

A Green politician and former activist will front an enlarged environment ministry, which includes traffic, energy and technology as well.