Talks between the country’s two biggest centrist parties to form a coalition government without the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) have broken down, Chancellor Karl Nehammer said, adding that he would resign in the coming days.
The announcement came a day after a third party, the small, liberal Neos, derailed the process, saying it was leaving the talks, accusing the other parties of failing to take the bold and decisive action it said it called for.
“I will step down as chancellor and as leader of the (conservative) People’s Party in the coming days and allow a smooth transition,” Nehammer said in a videotaped statement to X, after coalition talks with the Social Democrats (SPO) continued without Neos on Saturday.
We negotiated long and honestly. No agreement is possible with the SPÖ on essential points. The People’s Party stands by its promises: We will not agree to measures that are anti-performance or anti-business or new taxes. Therefore we end the negotiations…
— Karl Nehammer (@karlnehammer)
The Eurosceptic and pro-Russian FPO won the last parliamentary elections in September with 29% of the vote. He would need a coalition partner to govern, and since Nehammer ruled out governing with FPO leader Herbert Kickl, no potential partner was immediately available.
Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen, a former leader of the Greens, therefore tasked Neuhammer with forming a government. Now that Nehammer is stepping down, the two most likely options are either to entrust Kikl with forming a government or to call early elections.
Support for the FPO has increased since the previous election. It has a lead of more than 10 points over the People’s Party (OVP) and the SPO, according to opinion polls.
SPO leader Andreas Babler confirmed at a press conference that the talks had broken down. “We know what is threatening to happen now. An FPO-OVP government with a far-right chancellor that will endanger our democracy on many fronts,” said Bübler.
