Austrian coalition talks collapse, the chancellor resigns From Reuters

VIENNA (Reuters) – Talks between Austria’s two biggest centrist parties on forming a coalition government without the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) have broken down, Chancellor Karl Nehammer said on Saturday. adding that he will resign in the coming days.

The announcement came a day after a third party, the small liberal Neos, threw the process into disarray by saying it was leaving the talks, blaming other parties for not taking the bold and decisive action it said it would. he had asked.

“I will step down as chancellor and leader of the (conservative) People’s Party in the coming days and allow an orderly transition,” Nehammer said in a video statement on X, after coalition talks with the Social Democrats (SPO ) continued without the Neos on Saturday.

The eurosceptic, Russia-friendly FPO won the last parliamentary election 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, then tasked Nehammer with forming a government. Now that Nehammer is leaving, the two most likely options are either that Kickl is tasked with forming a government or a snap election is called.

Support for the FPO has only grown since the last election. He has an advantage of more than 10 points over the Popular Party (OVP) and the SPO, opinion polls show.

The head of the SPO, Andreas Babler, confirmed in a press conference that the talks had collapsed.

“We know what threatens to happen now. An FPO-OVP government with an extremist right-wing chancellor that endangers our democracy on many points,” said Babler.