U-turn in Austria ÖVP now wants to negotiate with right-wing populist FPÖ after all
For months, the conservative ÖVP had tried to form a government without the right-wing FPÖ. Now the ÖVP is changing tack.
05.01.2025, 16:05
dpa
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- In the struggle to form a government in Austria, Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen wants to meet with the leader of the right-wing populist FPÖ, Herbert Kickel, on Monday.
- Van der Bellen said on Sunday that he had invited Kickl to the Hofburg Palace in Vienna for talks on Monday.
- His decision could possibly pave the way for cooperation between the conservative ÖVP and the FPÖ.
Austria's conservative chancellor's party, the ÖVP, is open to negotiations with the right-wing FPÖ about a coalition government. The ÖVP wants to hold such talks if it is invited to do so, said the designated party leader Christian Stocker.
Also in the afternoon, Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen announced that he would talk to FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl on Monday about forming a government. He said he had the impression that the voices in the ÖVP ruling out cooperation with Kickl had become much quieter. "That in turn means that a new path may be opening up."
Coalition of center parties failed
Van der Bellen said that Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP), who had announced his resignation, would initially remain in office before appointing a new chancellor of an interim government in the course of the coming week.
At the end of September, the right-wing FPÖ won the most recent parliamentary elections. The ÖVP then attempted to forge a coalition of centrist parties with the social democratic SPÖ and the liberal Neos. This was intended to keep the right-wing populists out of power.
The coalition negotiations failed. Nehammer nevertheless stuck to his position of not wanting to govern with the FPÖ under its leader Herbert Kickl. The economic wing of the ÖVP, on the other hand, preferred cooperation with the right.
Nehammer clears the way
On Saturday, Nehammer announced his resignation as Chancellor and as leader of the ÖVP. In doing so, he cleared the way for new options. Party secretary Christian Stocker was appointed on Sunday to take over the leadership of the ÖVP.
A new election was also on the table as an alternative to FPÖ-ÖVP negotiations. However, due to the long lead time, these could not take place for around three months. Opinion pollsters expect that the FPÖ would win even more clearly in the election than in the fall.