Politics Austrian Chancellor Nehammer announces his resignation
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer wants to resign as head of government and as leader of the conservative ÖVP. Following the failure of the coalition negotiations, he will step down from these posts in the coming days, he said in a video message.
04.01.2025, 20:04
SDA
Following the withdrawal of the liberal Neos party from three-way talks on a coalition with the ÖVP and the social democratic SPÖ on Friday, the ÖVP and SPÖ tried in vain to continue negotiations in pairs on Saturday.
"It is obvious that the destructive forces in the SPÖ have gained the upper hand," said Nehammer, confirming the end of these talks as well. He emphasized that the ÖVP would not agree to an anti-economic and anti-performance program.
At the same time, Nehammer made it clear that he was still not prepared to enter into coalition talks with the right-wing FPÖ under Herbert Kickl. "It is my deep conviction that radicals do not offer a solution to a single problem," said Nehammer. The business wing of his party, on the other hand, prefers a coalition with the FPÖ rather than the SPÖ.
The FPÖ won the election in September. The three centrist parties then tried to forge a coalition and keep the right-wing parties out of power. If new elections are held, the FPÖ could expect an even clearer victory than before, according to the latest polls.
