Politics Austria's Chancellor withdraws - What happens next?
After the failure of the government negotiations in Austria and the announced resignation of Chancellor Karl Nehammer, his conservative ÖVP is looking for a new party leader. According to the ÖVP, talks between the party's top officials will take place on Sunday morning in the Chancellery.
05.01.2025, 04:22
SDA
What has happened so far
The right-wing FPÖ won the parliamentary elections in September. Nehammer wanted to forge a coalition with the social democratic SPÖ and the liberal Neos and thus keep the right-wing populists out of power. Negotiations began in mid-November. Now the project has failed. On Friday, the Neos dropped out of the traffic light negotiations. On Saturday, Nehammer also ended the talks between the ÖVP and SPÖ. The project of a centrist government failed due to differing ideas on how to stimulate Austria's sluggish economy and at the same time plug the hole in the national budget.
Is the way clear for the FPÖ?
Until recently, Nehammer had rejected a coalition with the FPÖ under its leader Herbert Kickl. The economic wing of the ÖVP, on the other hand, favors cooperation with the right rather than with the Social Democrats.
The ÖVP could now change tack and appoint someone to the party leadership who can negotiate and govern with the FPÖ. In this constellation, however, the ÖVP would only be the junior partner, as Kickl, as the winner of the election, would claim to be chancellor.
The second scenario is new elections. These could take place in around three months due to the long lead time. Opinion pollsters expect the FPÖ to win even more clearly than in the fall.
Rumors about Sebastian Kurz's comeback
In the past few days, Austrian media had brought former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz into play as a possible new ÖVP leader, citing conservative circles. The once very popular Kurz withdrew from politics in 2021 in the wake of corruption investigations against him. The investigations into the allegations, which Kurz denies, are still ongoing.
Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer, Secretary General of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce, is also considered a possible successor to Nehammer. He is not yet well known to the public - except in his native Upper Austria, where he was a member of the state government for several years.
EU Minister Karoline Edtstadler is also being discussed in the media as a possible ÖVP leader. However, she announced in November that she would not seek a position in the new government and wanted to withdraw from top politics.
