(Vienna) Austrian conservatives said on Sunday they were ready to begin negotiations with the far right to form a new government, a political about-face after the failure of coalition talks with the liberals and social democrats.
Posted at 12:01 p.m.
Updated at 12:12 p.m.
The Alpine EU member country plunged into political uncertainty on Saturday when conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer ended talks aimed at forming a centrist government without the far right, which came first in parliamentary elections late september.
In the process, Mr. Nehammer announced that he will resign “in the coming days” from his post as chancellor and from the presidency of the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP, conservatives), promising “an orderly transition”. He has held both positions since the end of 2021.
At a meeting of ÖVP leaders on Sunday, the movement’s general secretary, Christian Stocker, was named interim party leader.
Mr Stocker said he had been authorized by his party to begin coalition negotiations with the far right.
“This country needs a stable government today, and we cannot continue to waste time that we do not have on campaigns or elections,” he added.
Shortly before, Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen had indicated that he was going to meet the leader of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ, far right), Herbert Kickl, on Monday to “discuss the new situation”.
PHOTO LEONHARD FOEGER, ARCHIVES REUTERS
The leader of the far-right FPÖ party, Herbert Kickl
“The voices within the ÖVP which ruled out working with […] Kickl have been much more discreet,” the president told the press. “This means that a new path has opened up that didn’t exist before.”
During a press conference, Mr. Stocker welcomed the president’s decision to discuss with the far-right leader, whose party had gathered almost 29% of the votes in the legislative elections but who until then had not not found partners to form a government.
It is not clear at the moment whether Mr Van der Bellen will ask the far right to try to form a government.
The president initially asked conservatives to form a stable government that respects the “foundations of our liberal democracy.”
In the past, he has several times expressed reservations towards Mr. Kickl, whose party is given 35% in the latest polls.
When announcing his upcoming resignation, Chancellor Nehammer lamented on Saturday that he had not been able to create a “force of political centrism in order to build a bulwark against the radicals”.
The chancellor had previously said he was open to discussions with the FPÖ, but he always ruled out working with its leader Herbert Kickl.
In a press release, the leader of the far-right party Herbert Kickl described Saturday as “ losers » the parties involved in the coalition discussions. “Instead of stability, we have chaos” after three “wasted months,” he added.
The conservatives of the ÖVP came in second place in the legislative elections with 26% of the votes, followed by the social democrats (SPÖ, center left) at 21%.
The ÖVP has participated in the various governments of the country of 9 million inhabitants since 1987. It has already governed twice with the FPÖ, minority partner, in 2000 and in 2017.
