In Austria, a coalition from ÖVP, SPÖ and Neos

After months of wrangling for government formation in Austria, the conservative ÖVP, the Social Democrats (SPÖ) and the liberal Neos now want to form a joint government. This was announced by the chairs of the parties Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen on Saturday afternoon, as the head of state then announced in a statement.

He had the feeling that a little continued now and there was progress on the way to a coalition, said van der Bellen on Saturday after a meeting with the bosses of the three parties in the Vienna Hofburg. He not only sees willingness to compromise, but also a focus on the common goal.

The liberals reported trusting contacts. “NEOS therefore agreed with the ÖVP and SPÖ to begin talks for the formation of a coalition and the development of a program,” they wrote on their website.

The elections had taken place on September 29, 2024. With 28.85 percent of the vote, the FPÖ had become the strongest force in the Austrian parliament for the first time. However, none of the other larger parties had initially been ready for a coalition with her.

After the coalition talks between the ÖVP, the SPÖ and the liberal Neos then failed, Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen had commissioned an ultra-right politician with FPÖ boss Herbert Kickl for the first time with the formation of government.

The parties could not overcome their differences.

However, Kickl returned the order for government formation on Wednesday after the talks failed. One dispute was the distribution of the departments.