Politics Talks about a two-party coalition in Austria also fail
Negotiations on a centrist government without the right-wing FPÖ in Austria have failed. The conservative ÖVP has ended its talks with the social democratic SPÖ, party circles confirmed. The APA news agency had previously reported that the negotiations had come to an end. "An agreement on essential core issues is not possible", the party said.
04.01.2025, 19:36
SDA
It was only on Friday that the liberal Neos party surprisingly pulled out of negotiations with the ÖVP and SPÖ on a traffic light coalition after weeks of wrangling. The two remaining parties then continued talks on Saturday afternoon. By the evening, however, the talks had already come to an end.
The negotiations between the centrist parties were also an attempt to keep the right-wing FPÖ out of power after their election victory at the end of September. However, the ÖVP and SPÖ would only have had a narrow majority of one vote in parliament. The SPÖ and ÖVP were unable to find common ground in various areas. Among other things, the SPÖ demanded that the deficit-ridden state budget should be restructured on the shoulders of richer sections of the population; the ÖVP was strictly against additional taxes.
It was not immediately clear what would follow the ÖVP's move. Should there be new elections, the right-wing populist FPÖ could hope for a brilliant victory. The latest polls signaled another large increase in votes compared to the National Council elections. The FPÖ could then significantly increase its result from 29% to around 35%.
