Austrian politicians are ready to negotiate with far-right party and form coalition

The media outlet writes that the interim head of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), Christian Stocker, is against holding early elections and admits the possibility of forming a coalition with the far-right Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ). He said he was ready to accept an “invitation” if the FPÖ, led by its leader Herbert Kickl, wanted to discuss government formation with him.

Earlier, President Alexander Van der Bellen spoke about the situation. He promised to make a decision next week. In addition, the head of state invited Kiekle to a meeting to be held on Monday.

According to Van der Bellen, the voices of those who opposed cooperation with the head of the FPÖ have become quieter in the ÖVP party. However, the president emphasized that any Austrian government must respect the fundamental principles, namely the rule of law, separation of powers, human and minority rights, freedom and independence of the media, and EU membership.

What preceded

Austria held parliamentary elections on September 29, 2024. The far-right FPÖ party took the first place with 29.2% of the vote, advocating for tighter migration policy and a reduction in European aid to Ukraine.

Nehammer's ÖVP came in second, and the SPÖ in third. Both parties refused to work in a coalition with the ruling FPÖ, saying they would form their own coalition. The NEOS party was also supposed to join the group.

However, on Friday, NEOS withdrew from the negotiations, and then on Saturday, the talks between the ÖVP and the SPÖ finally failed. As a result, Chancellor Nehammer announced that he had stopped negotiations with the SPÖ and announced his resignation.