Coalition talks have dragged on after Austria’s main parties refused to work with the leader of the right-wing Freedom Party (FPÖ), Herbert Kickl, who came first in September’s election with 29.2% of the vote.
Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer has said he will resign in the coming days after talks on forming a new government failed for a second time.
The announcement came after the People’s Party (ÖVP) and the Social Democrats (SPÖ) continued coalition talks a day after the liberal Neos party’s surprise withdrawal from discussions.
Neos, alongside Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer’s conservative Austrian People’s Party and the centre-left Social Democrats have been trying to forge a three-party ruling coalition after the right-wing Freedom Party won national elections in September.
“Unfortunately, I have to tell you today that the negotiations have ended and will not be continued by the People’s Party,” Nehammer said in a post on X.
“We have tried everything up to this point. An agreement on key points is not possible, so it makes no sense for a positive future for Austria.”
Nehammer said that “destructive forces” in the Social Democrats had “gained the upper hand” and that the People’s Party will not sign on to a program that is against economic competitiveness or the introduction of new taxes.
Social Democrat party leader Andreas Babler said he regretted the decision by the People’s Party to end the negotiations.
“This is not a good decision for our country,” he said.
Babler said that one of the main stumbling blocks had to do with how to repair the “record deficit” left by the previous government.
“I have offered to Karl Nehammer and the People’s Party to continue negotiating and called on them not to give up,” he told reporters.
Neos leader Beate Meinl-Reisinger said progress was impossible and that “fundamental reforms” had not been agreed upon. She informed the other party leaders that Neos members “won’t continue” talks.
Talks had dragged on after all other parties refused to work with the leader of the Freedom Party (FPÖ), Herbert Kickl, who came first in September’s election with 29.2% of the vote, forcing the ÖVP and the SPÖ to try and recruit a smaller party to bolster their majority.
In a statement, Kickl complained that the three main party leaders had wasted months on their “Kickl prevention strategy”.
“Instead of speed in forming a government, we now have three lost months. Instead of stability, we have chaos,” he said.
Challenges ahead
New elections are the likely next step, something the right-wing FPÖ immediately welcomed as opinion polls indicate their support has grown since the election.
In a survey commissioned by newspaper Der Standard, the FPÖ increased their support to 35% of the vote according to prospective voters in December.
But whoever heads Austria’s next government will face the challenge of having to save between €18-24 billion, according to the EU Commission.
In addition, Austria has been in a recession for the past two years, is experiencing rising unemployment and its budget deficit is currently at 3.7% of GDP, above the EU’s limit of 3%.
