The Austrian conservatives (ÖVP) are willing to start negotiations with the Freedom Party (FPÖ) after failing the attempt to agree on a government coalition that would exclude the ultras, winners with 28.8% of the votes in the elections of the last September 29. (SPÖ) this Saturday, preceding the day before the departure of the Neos liberals from the negotiations for a moderate tripartite that would obtain a majority in the Austrian Parliament, led the Christian Democrat Chancellor, Karl Nehammer, to announce his resignation from office and as head of the ÖVP. His successor in the party, the until now general secretary Christian Stocker, appointed this Sunday, has stated in an appearance before the media that, given the situation of blockade and political crisis, his party would accept an “invitation” to talks from the ultras of Herbert Kickl, something that the resigning chancellor had ruled out until now.
The dismissal of Nehammer as head of the Christian Democrats and as acting head of the Executive, which will be formalized in the coming days, has thus opened the door to a possible pact between ÖVP and FPÖ, as the far-right takes office for the first time in democracy the chancellery of Austria. The ultras have insisted since election night that it is their responsibility to lead
The ultra leader has criticized on his social networks “the wasted time, the chaotic situation and the enormous loss of confidence” in the more than three months since the elections and has claimed: “It is clear that the FPÖ has been and is the only factor stability of national politics. However, he has not commented on possible conversations with the conservatives at the moment.
Stocker, who has thanked Nehammer for his efforts to agree on a tripartite agreement without the ultras, has declared that he hopes that the president of the country, the progressive Alexander Van der Bellen, will now be in charge of forming a Government. A step that the president avoided after the elections later to speak with all the leaders and verify that no party was willing to join forces with the extreme right because they considered their leader’s approaches extreme. However, Nehammer was careful to include in his rejection the FPÖ, in which he stated in the campaign that there are “sensible people.” Conservatives and ultras have already governed together in the past at the federal level, and are now partners in several regions.
The new Christian Democrat leader has until now been the party’s loudspeaker for the harsh criticism of the ultra leader, as he admitted this Sunday, before adding that the scenario has changed after the failure of a moderate coalition: “It’s not about Herbert Kickl nor from me, but from the fact that this country needs a stable Government and that we cannot continue wasting time on electoral campaigns or elections.
Stocker has avoided answering whether he would accept to be vice-chancellor under Herbert Kickl. The leader, 64 years old and with a long career in the party, has stressed that a negotiation with the ultras will first have to be confirmed and, if it takes place and comes to fruition, it will be time to talk about names and positions. Nor has it been announced at this time who will replace Nehammer at the head of the acting Government.
Shortly before the intervention of the interim head of the ÖVP, President Van der Bellen addressed the citizens to announce that he had summoned the ultra leader to a conversation at the presidential palace in Vienna this Monday. The president recalled that despite having won the elections after confirming a general rejection of him leading it. He thus left the attempt in the hands of the second party, the ÖVP, which suffered a hard fall at the polls to 26.3%, followed by the Social Democrats (21.1%), Liberals (9.1%) and Los green (8.2%).
Van der Bellen has stated that he has been surprised by the breakdown of the negotiations for a tripartite and that Austria, in recession for two years, needs a Government with the capacity to act and with a clear majority in Parliament. The president, who has not explained whether he will ask Kickl to seek to agree on an Executive, as he is expected to do from the conservative ranks, has recalled that in democracy it is necessary to seek “solutions and compromises.” He has also noted that “the voices within the ÖVP that ruled out cooperation with Kickl have weakened” after Nehammer’s withdrawal.
And as he did on election night, in the face of the ultra victory, Van der Bellen has highlighted the need to respect the rule of law, the separation of powers, human and minority rights, freedom of the press and belonging to the European Union as bases of democracy.
