Austria: President speaks with FPÖ – ÖVP ready for negotiations

In Austria, the right-wing FPÖ is taking center stage in the formation of a government following the failure of coalition negotiations led by the conservative ÖVP.

Austria’s Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen will discuss the new situation with FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl on Monday morning in the Hofburg, Van der Bellen said on Sunday.

The new, interim ÖVP leader Christian Stocker said he assumed that Kickl would be tasked with forming a government. The conservative chancellor’s party ÖVP is ready to negotiate with the right-wing FPÖ about a government coalition. The ÖVP would like to hold such discussions if invited, said Stocker.

Previously, coalition negotiations between the ÖVP and the social democratic SPÖ had failed, as had three-way talks with the liberal Neos.

Since Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) continued to rule out cooperation with FPÖ leader Kickl, he announced his resignation on Saturday in order to pave the way for other options for his party.

The Russia-friendly EU skeptics of the FPÖ emerged as the strongest force in the parliamentary elections at the end of September. However, they had not received an order from Van der Bellen to form a government because the other parties did not want to work with her and her controversial boss Kickl.

After recent discussions, Van der Bellen said that the picture that emerged was that “the voices within the People’s Party that rule out cooperation with an FPÖ under Herbert Kickl have become significantly quieter.” This in turn means “that a new path may be opening up that did not exist before.” The Federal President said he wanted to talk to Kickl about this.

If the ÖVP now decide to enter into coalition negotiations with the right-wing FPÖ after Nehammer’s withdrawal, the conservatives would only be the junior partner in such a government.