Austria’s Federal President gives government mandate to FPÖ leader Kickl

After coalition talks between other parties failed, Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen gave the head of the right-wing populist FPÖ, Herbert Kickl, the order to form a government. Van der Bellen announced this at a press conference in Vienna. He had previously exchanged ideas with Kickl in a conversation that lasted around an hour.

Accordingly, Kickl should start coalition talks with the conservative ÖVP, said the Federal President. Kickl promised him that he was confident of finding viable solutions in government negotiations – “and he wants this responsibility.” The Federal President said that the FPÖ leader would continually report to him on the progress of talks with the ÖVP. “I didn’t take this step lightly,” said Van der Bellen about his decision. Respect for the electorate requires “that the Federal President respects the majority,” even if he himself may have different wishes and ideas.

The head of state added that he spoke to Kickl about, among other things, the difficult “economic environment” for Austria, the “threat situation (…) particularly from Russia’s war of aggression” and “at length about the freedom of the media in Austria.”

As the APA news agency reported, Kickl was expected to make a statement afterwards. The FPÖ initially said that the party only wanted to make a more comprehensive statement on Tuesday. Whether it will stay that way was unclear again on Monday.

Counter-demonstrators gathered in front of the Vienna Hofburg, the seat of the Federal President. The Austrian broadcaster ORF reported, citing the police, that there were around 500 participants.

The right-wing populist FPÖ became the strongest force in parliament for the first time in the September election with 28.85 percent of the vote. The conservative ÖVP achieved 26.3 percent, followed by the social democratic SPÖ with 21.1 percent.

After the election, the ÖVP and SPÖ tried to prevent Kickl from entering the Chancellery. ÖVP, SPÖ and the liberal Neos started coalition negotiations. However, the Neos withdrew from the coalition talks on Friday, and on Saturday the negotiations between the ÖVP and SPÖ also failed.

Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who had always spoken out against a coalition between his ÖVP and the FPÖ, announced that he would resign as government and party leader in the coming days. His successor at the top of the ÖVP, Christian Stocker, declared himself open to coalition negotiations with the FPÖ.

Note: This article has been continually updated.