After the collapse of coalition talks between the conservative Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) and the Social Democrats (SPÖ), Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen said on Sunday he would meet far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) leader Herbert Kickl on Monday.
“Voices within the People’s Party that rule out cooperation with an FPÖ under Herbert Kickl have become much quieter. This in turn means that a new path may be opening up that did not exist before,” Van der Bellen said.
The FPÖ, a party of pro-Russian Eurosceptics, emerged from parliamentary elections in September as the largest party with 29%. But it has been unable to form a government since no other parties would enter a coalition with them.
Stocker signals shift in ÖVP stance
On Sunday, the ÖVP’s newly appointed interim leader, Christian Stocker, however, said he was prepared to negotiate with the FPÖ after talks to form a centrist coalition fell apart.
Stocker told reporters, “the leader of the party with the most votes will be tasked with forming a future government.”
“If we are invited to these [coalition] talks, we will accept this invitation,” he said.
Stocker was chosen to lead Austria’s ruling conservative ÖVP after Chancellor Karl Nehammer announced the end of coalition talks and his resignation on Saturday.
Even though Kickl’s FPÖ topped the polls in the autumn’s national election, the president tasked Nehammer with putting together a new government.
Nehammer had consistently ruled out working with Kickl and the FPÖ.
The collapse of coalition talks between the ÖVP and the SPÖ has put the FPÖ back in contention to form a new government.
Is a FPÖ and ÖVP coalition possible?
There are overlaps in the FPÖ and ÖVP policy platforms, for example, regarding economic policy and restrictions on immigration. Austria has also been governed by an ÖVP-FPÖ coalition before under then-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.
An alternative to FPÖ-ÖVP negotiations is a new election, which pollsters believe the FPÖ would win even more convincingly.
Van der Bellen said Nehammer would remain in office until a new chancellor is appointed in the coming week to lead a caretaker government while a coalition is formed.
Whichever party leads the next Austrian government, it will face several challenges, including an economy in recession, rising unemployment and a budget deficit of 3.7% of GDP — above the European Union’s limit of 3%.
The EU Commission has said that Vienna must save between €18 billion to €24 billion ($18.56 billion to $24.75 billion).
lo/sms (AP, dpa, Reuters)
