The parliamentary elections in Austria were held on September 29, 2024, more than 130 days after the election. Never before has the country experienced such a long period of time in which the winning parties were unable to form a new government.
Author: TASR, 12.2.2025 16:23
Vienna, February 12 (TASR) - Coalition talks between the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ)
and the conservative Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) collapsed in Austria on Wednesday. The first Austrian far-right government led by Herbert Kickl will not be formed for the time being. TASR writes about this based on reports from the AFP and AP agencies.
"We regret that the negotiations were ultimately unsuccessful," said FPÖ leader Kickl. He received the mandate to form a new government from Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen in January. He has now informed the head of state that he is giving up his mandate.
According to the AP, in a letter addressed to the Austrian president, Kickl blamed the People's Party for the failure of the talks and stated that the result was the parties' inability to reach a mutual agreement. The Free Party gave way to the ÖVP on many points, claims their 56-year-old leader, who was still optimistic about the successful conclusion of the negotiations on Tuesday.
The People's Party, on the other hand, stated that the talks " failed due to the desire for power and the uncompromising stance of Herbert Kickl ." If the coalition negotiations are successful, the leader of the far-right party would head the Austrian government for the first time since World War II.
The coalition negotiations between the Free and the People's Party have been marked in recent days by their differing views, particularly on foreign policy. The FPÖ demanded tougher anti-immigration measures and has long been a strong critic of the EU. It also condemned European sanctions imposed on Russia for its almost three-year invasion of Ukraine.
The ÖVP demanded that the Free and the People's Party make commitments regarding Austria's involvement in the EU and also label Moscow as a threat. Another point of contention was the filling of specific ministries, especially the posts of finance and interior ministers. It is currently unclear what will happen next - whether Austria will organize new elections, whether the other parties will try to form an alternative coalition, or whether the president will declare a temporary government of experts.
The parliamentary elections in Austria were held on September 29, 2024, more than 130 days after the election.
Never before has the country seen the winning parties unable to form a new government for so long.
Alexander Van der Bellen tasked Kickl with forming a new coalition on January 6 after negotiations between the ÖVP, the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) and the liberal NEOS party failed. The FPÖ won the parliamentary elections with almost 29 percent of the vote, followed by the ÖVP with over 26 percent and the SPÖ with over 20 percent.