Formation of government: Austria: Federal President meets FPÖ leader Kickl

In Austria, a meeting between Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen and FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl is eagerly awaited this late morning. It is expected that the head of state will commission the right-wing populist to form a government. Negotiations for the formation of a three-party coalition of the conservative ÖVP, the social democratic SPÖ and the liberal Neos, favored by the head of state himself, had previously failed after six weeks due to major discrepancies in content.

Kickl himself was rather vague in the run-up to the meeting. “Some things seem to be a lot clearer today than in the last few days, some things are still uncertain,” Kickl wrote on Facebook. At the same time, with a view to the most recent dramatic developments, he stated: “We are not responsible for lost time, for chaotic conditions and the enormous damage to trust that has occurred.”

The FPÖ clearly won the parliamentary election three months ago, but was initially ignored in coalition talks due to the other parties’ unwillingness to work with the right-wing populists. The conservative ÖVP, previously on the opposite course to the FPÖ, announced that it would now be available for alliance talks with the right-wing party.

Agreements and differences between ÖVP and FPÖ

If the talks take place and an agreement is reached, the way would be clear for Austria’s first chancellor from the ranks of the FPÖ. The 56-year-old Kickl, who positioned himself as “People’s Chancellor” in the election campaign, is known, among other things, for his Russia-friendly stance and an extremely strict migration policy with large-scale deportations.

Political scientist Kathrin Stainer-Hämmerle said in the evening on the ORF news program “ZiB2” that there would be great agreement on economic, asylum and education policy for any coalition talks between the FPÖ and ÖVP. However, there are significant discrepancies in EU, foreign and security policy, said Hämmerle.

Joint concepts for overcoming the deep budget crisis are also completely open, said the President of the Fiscal Council Christoph Badelt on ORF. It is questionable whether a new chancellor from the FPÖ would want to start with unpopular austerity measures or tax increases, Badelt continued. “We all don’t know what the FPÖ would actually be willing to do when it really comes down to budget consolidation.” Austria urgently needs to restructure its budget in order to avoid an EU deficit procedure.

Nehammer is followed as party leader by Stocker

After the failure of negotiations between the ÖVP, SPÖ and Neos, Chancellor Karl Nehammer announced his resignation. He was succeeded in the office of party leader on an interim basis by the previous ÖVP General Secretary Christian Stocker. Like Nehammer, he was one of Kickl’s harshest critics, whom he accused, among other things, of being incapable of governing. He also described the FPÖ leader as a “security risk”.

In the meantime, a comeback by ex-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz was also considered an option for the ÖVP. On Sunday, however, it became clear that the 38-year-old, who is now successful as an entrepreneur, is not available as the successor to the current Chancellor and ÖVP leader Nehammer, as people around him said.

Federal President points to a change in mood

The development in favor of the FPÖ is also seen as a blow to the Federal President, who had preferred a three-party coalition without the right-wing populists. Now it’s about ensuring that Austria has an effective and stable government, said the head of state.

According to Van der Bellen, Nehammer will initially remain in office as chancellor for a short time. The successor to Chancellor will be decided over the course of the week. The new head of government will lead the country until the next government is sworn in.

The head of state had repeatedly emphasized in his statements that he would ensure “to the best of his knowledge and belief” that the fundamental pillars of democracy – he mentioned the rule of law, separation of powers, free, independent media and EU membership – would continue to be upheld .