Either a government led by the far right in alliance with the People’s Party, or new elections in May: these seem to be the only two paths left in Austria, with the country unable to emerge from a long political crisis.
The parliamentary elections in the country were held last September 29th and marked a historic affirmation of the radical right of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), led by Herbert Kickl, who obtained 29.1% of the votes, becoming the the main political force in the country for the first time. The ÖVP (Austrian People’s Party) came in second place with 26.2%, followed by the socialists and the liberals.
Nehammer’s resignation
The leader of the People’s Party, Karl Nehammer, was appointed to form the government, but the latter refused to deal with the far right and was unable to find another solution, finally deciding to resign. Wie geht es weiter? (“How will it continue?”) is the question that resonates most among the nine between last night and this morning Land Austrians, after the announcement of Nehammer’s resignation and his withdrawal from the leadership of the ÖVP.
Opening on the right
The response of the new designated leader of the People’s Party, Christian Stocker, is a possible alliance with the far right, against which until now a sanitary cordon had been erected. Stocker, who replaced Nehammer after the failure of talks between the ÖVP, the social democrats of the SPö and the liberals of Neos, said he was willing to start negotiations with the FPö. “I expect the leader of the party with the most votes to be in charge of forming the future government. If we are invited to participate in these coalition talks, we will accept the invitation,” he told reporters after his appointment.
The Austrian president, Alexander Van der Bellen, has announced that he has summoned the leader of the FPÖ, Kickl, for tomorrow as part of the consultations on the new government. According to the president, the voices within the ÖVP against collaboration with the far right – which came first in the September vote – would have reduced: “This means that it is possible to open a new path”.
