| Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer has announced that he will resign as leader of the moderate conservative People’s Party. (Source: FT) |
Austrian Prime Minister Karl Nehammer announced his resignation after several months of efforts to form a centrist coalition excluding the far right failed.
The country faces the prospect of having to hold new elections after being unable to form a government without the anti-immigration, pro-Russian Freedom Party (FPÖ), which took historic first place in the national vote of September.
Mr. Nehammer, who also announced that he would resign as leader of the moderate conservative People’s Party (ÖVP), was tasked by the country’s president with forming a coalition after all other parties in the party. Congress rejected the possibility of cooperation with the hard-line leader of the FPÖ, Mr. Herbert Kickl.
The 52-year-old prime minister, who has served as prime minister since 2021 when his predecessor Sebastian Kurz resigned amid a corruption investigation, sought to reach an agreement with the Social Democrats and the small liberal party Neos.
However, on January 3, the Neos party abruptly withdrew from the negotiations and on January 1, Mr. Nehammer announced that he would abandon his attempt to form a government.
“Unfortunately, today I must inform you that the negotiations have ended and that the People’s Party will no longer continue,” he said in a statement. video on social media platform
“I will resign as Prime Minister and leader of the People’s Party in the coming days and make an orderly transition.”
Mr Nehammer said “destructive forces” within the Social Democratic Party had “dominated” the negotiations and that his party was unwilling to participate in the economic program he was proposing.
Social Democratic Party leader Andreas Babler regretted the ÖVP’s decision to end negotiations, adding that his party was ready to compromise. “This is not a good decision for our country,” he said.
The failure of the negotiations adds to political instability in Austria at a time when the country’s economy risks contracting for a third consecutive year in 2025. According to European Commission data, the country also faces the challenge of have to reduce its budget by 18 to 24 billion euros.
The other possibility is re-election, but that could risk further strengthening the Liberal Party, with polls showing the far-right party has gained more support since the November 9 vote, when it won 29% of the vote .
The ÖVP party is also to begin searching for a new leader, with officials meeting on January 5 to discuss the process.
