Austria's president tasks far right to form govt in historic first
POST BEER HALL PUTSCH
Kiyoko METZLER
Mon, January 6, 2025
Austria's president met with far-right leader Herbert Kickl after coalition talks to form a centrist government failed (Joe Klamar) (Joe Klamar/AFP/AFP)
Austria's president tasked far-right leader Herbert Kickl with trying to form a government Monday, in a historic move after coalition talks that excluded the Freedom party (FPOe) collapsed.
While the far-right party has been part of Austria's government several times, it is the first time that it will lead coalition talks.
The FPOe topped the poll in September's national election for the first time ever, winning almost 29 percent of the vote but until now had been unable to find partners to govern.
After a one-hour-meeting, President Alexander Van der Bellen said he had tasked Kickl with trying to form a government with the conservatives given the "new situation".
Talks between the conservative People's Party (OeVP), the Social Democrats and liberals fell apart last week.
"Mr Kickl believes he can find viable solutions... and he wants this responsibility," Van der Bellen said.
"I have therefore tasked him to enter into talks with the OeVP with a view to forming a federal government," he said, adding it was "not an easy" decision.
While a coalition led by the far right with the conservatives was now "highly likely", expert Peter Hajek told AFP that the negotiations will be a "litmus test for both", considering that Kickl was "extremely unpredictable".
- 'Nazis out' -
Hundreds of people protested against the far right outside the presidency at Vienna's Hofburg palace, shouting "Nazis out" and holding up signs reading "Unite against the far right".
Mon, January 6, 2025
Austria's president met with far-right leader Herbert Kickl after coalition talks to form a centrist government failed (Joe Klamar) (Joe Klamar/AFP/AFP)
Austria's president tasked far-right leader Herbert Kickl with trying to form a government Monday, in a historic move after coalition talks that excluded the Freedom party (FPOe) collapsed.
While the far-right party has been part of Austria's government several times, it is the first time that it will lead coalition talks.
The FPOe topped the poll in September's national election for the first time ever, winning almost 29 percent of the vote but until now had been unable to find partners to govern.
After a one-hour-meeting, President Alexander Van der Bellen said he had tasked Kickl with trying to form a government with the conservatives given the "new situation".
Talks between the conservative People's Party (OeVP), the Social Democrats and liberals fell apart last week.
"Mr Kickl believes he can find viable solutions... and he wants this responsibility," Van der Bellen said.
"I have therefore tasked him to enter into talks with the OeVP with a view to forming a federal government," he said, adding it was "not an easy" decision.
While a coalition led by the far right with the conservatives was now "highly likely", expert Peter Hajek told AFP that the negotiations will be a "litmus test for both", considering that Kickl was "extremely unpredictable".
- 'Nazis out' -
Hundreds of people protested against the far right outside the presidency at Vienna's Hofburg palace, shouting "Nazis out" and holding up signs reading "Unite against the far right".
Van der Bellen had initially asked the long-ruling OeVP, who came second in the September vote, with forming a stable government that respects the "foundations of our liberal democracy".
But on Sunday he said a "new situation" had emerged, as "voices within the People's Party that rule out working with.... Kickl have become significantly quieter".
In the past, the president has voiced reservations about Kickl.
Kickl, 56, who took over a scandal-tainted FPOe in 2021 and led its recovery, is known for his virulent rhetoric, including slamming Van der Bellen as a "senile mummy".
But the sharp-tongued former interior minister has skillfully tapped into voter anxieties over migration, the war in Ukraine and the Covid pandemic.
He has also frequently employed terms reminiscent of the troubled past of the party, founded by former Nazis in the 1950s, including calling himself the future "Volkskanzler" -- the people's chancellor -- as Adolf Hitler was termed.
- 'New edition of dreadful coalition' -
In the wake of the collapse of the talks, conservative Karl Nehammer said he would step down as chancellor and party chairman to enable an "orderly transition". He has held both posts since late 2021 and is expected to resign on Friday.
In a U-turn, the conservatives on Sunday under their new interim party leader Christian Stocker said they would enter into coalition talks with the far right if invited to do so.
"This country needs a stable government now," Stocker said.
Kickl, however, branded the parties involved in the failed coalition negotiations "losers", adding three months had been "wasted".
The far right and the conservatives together have a comfortable majority of 108 of the 183 seats in the lower house.
The International Auschwitz Committee on Monday said Kickl being tasked to form a government was "another dark highlight on the road to European oblivion", according to the Austrian press agency APA.
The Greens accused the conservatives of "voter deception", while the Social Democrats warned of "a new edition of a dreadful FPOe-OeVP coalition" that will "smash our welfare state, dismantle democracy and divide our society".
The OeVP gained 26 percent of the vote in the September elections, with the centre-left Social Democrats taking 21 percent.
The FPOe has never governed the EU country of nine million. It already leads one regional government in Austria and is part of government in four other provinces.
kym/phz
Austrian far right demands conservatives be 'honest' in coalition talks
Francois Murphy
Updated Tue, January 7, 2025
Freedom Party (FPOe) leader Herbert Kickl addresses the media in Vienna
VIENNA (Reuters) -Austrian far-right Freedom Party (FPO) leader Herbert Kickl called on the conservative People's Party (OVP) to be "honest" in their imminent coalition talks or face the prospect of a snap election, with his support still rising and the OVP's falling.
The eurosceptic, Russia-friendly FPO, an ally of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz, won the last parliamentary election in September with around 29% of the vote but was initially sidelined as centrist parties attempted to form a coalition without it.
Those efforts collapsed at the weekend, prompting President Alexander van der Bellen to task Kickl with forming a government, giving Kickl a chance to become Austria's first FPO chancellor since his party was founded in the 1950s under a leader who had been a senior SS officer and Nazi lawmaker.
"Honest government must be preceded by honest negotiations," Kickl said, adding: "No little games, no tricks, no sabotage."
He also called on new, interim OVP leader Christian Stocker to ensure his party is stable and united, a reference to divisions that appear to have helped collapse the centrist coalition talks.
"If that is not the case, then ... there will be snap election. We are prepared," Kickl said, a clear threat given that opinion polls show FPO support has only risen since September while the OVP's has fallen, with the gap growing to more than 10 percentage points.
Kickl's statement, his first since Van der Bellen announced that he had tasked him with forming a government, was short on policy details.
He said he wanted a "massive political firefighting operation" to bring the Alpine republic's finances under control but did not give specifics.
How to bring the budget deficit back within the European Union's limit of 3% of economic output was the main sticking point in the centrist coalition talks.
It is unclear how the FPO and OVP would achieve that - they both prefer to trim government spending to raising taxes, but are wary of cutting big-ticket items like pensions.
Kickl said he would extend the invitation to talks to the OVP, his only potential coalition partner, after his party's leadership signs off on the move on Tuesday evening, and that once the talks begin they should quickly establish whether a coalition is possible.
(Reporting by Francois Murphy; editing by Alison Williams and Mark Heinrich)
Austrian far right leader Kickl calls for 'honest politics' in talks
DPA
Tue, January 7, 2025
Freedom Party of Austria (FPOe) leader, Herbert Kickl, speaks during a press conference on the upcoming government coalition negotiations with the Austrian People's Party (OeVP) in Vienna. Helmut Fohringer/APA/dpa
Austrian far right leader Herbert Kickl outlined key conditions for coalition negotiations with the conservative Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) on Tuesday, stating that the ÖVP must share his commitment to "honest politics."
At his first press conference since being tasked with forming a government, Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) leader Kickl warned against "games, tricks, sabotage and obstructionism," emphasising the importance of restoring public trust in politics.
He said he believes that diligence, honesty and courage can foster a spirit of optimism in the country.
Kickl openly threatened new elections if the ÖVP does not meet his criteria, stating, "We are prepared for that."
He said recent polls show the far-right populists have significantly increased their lead over the ÖVP and the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) compared to the parliamentary elections 100 days ago.
The FPÖ was tasked with forming a government after the failure of coalition talks between the ÖVP, SPÖ and liberal NEOS, and the cancellation of subsequent talks between the ÖVP and SPÖ.
President Alexander Van der Bellen, a former leader of the Greens, acknowledged the difficulty of his decision to give the FPÖ a chance to form a government.
Kickl would be the first FPÖ chancellor in Austria but said it was not a lifelong dream to lead the country. "Anyone who says that has no idea about me," he added.
However, he said he is now letting the voters hold him to account.
He accused the previous ÖVP-led government of mismanaging the country and leaving a huge budget deficit.
Kickl did not specify how he intends to address this central issue in Austrian politics, avoiding comments on specific projects and not welcoming questions at his press appearance.
The FPÖ, which topped the September election, has been in government before but as a junior partner to the ÖVP not the other way around.
Freedom Party of Austria (FPOe) leader, Herbert Kickl, speaks during a press conference on the upcoming government coalition negotiations with the Austrian People's Party (OeVP) in Vienna. Helmut Fohringer/APA/dpa
Francois Murphy
Mon, January 6, 2025
Austrian President Van der Bellen meets far-right FPO leader Kickl, in Vienna
VIENNA (Reuters) - He is so abrasive that he has one of Austria's lowest personal approval ratings, but far-right chief Herbert Kickl's strategic cunning helped his party to its first ever national election win and he now has a chance to become its first chancellor.
Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen on Monday tasked Kickl, head of the eurosceptic, Russia-friendly Freedom Party (FPO), with forming a coalition government after a centrist bid to assemble one without the FPO collapsed over the weekend.
"Kickl here, Kickl there, Kickl everywhere," Kickl joked at a typically rowdy, beer-fuelled rally before last year's election, goading his main rival then, conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer, for spending so much time talking about him.
Nehammer framed the September election - which saw the FPO emerge as the largest party with 29% of the vote - as a choice "between him and me", prompting Kickl to remark: "I don't know if I should feel more honoured or stalked!"
Such barbs often punctuate Kickl's withering tirades against other parties. Even vehement opponents are entertained by his speeches in parliament, though many also find his criticism of immigrants or gender politics deeply offensive.
Thanks in no small part to that pugnacious style, Kickl regularly lands at the bottom of an OGM survey for news agency APA of leading politicians' popularity.
'FOCUSED STRATEGIST'
At the same time, the former speechwriter for onetime FPO firebrand Joerg Haider can carefully calibrate his messaging, moderating his tone before the election to win over more middle-of-the-road voters.
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He then railed against a centrist attempt to form what he called a "coalition of losers" that sidelined the FPO. That collapsed at the weekend, leading Nehammer - who had described Kickl as a conspiracy theorist and security threat - to resign.
The new leadership of Nehammer's centre-right People's Party (OVP) has signalled it will now enter coalition talks with the FPO, though there is no guarantee they will be able to form a coalition government and another election remains a possibility.
While Kickl can shift his tone, his positioning on key issues and his refusal to bow to pressure to step aside at another party's behest so they could govern together, as Dutch nationalist Geert Wilders did last year, suggest a rare strategic intelligence, some analysts said.
"He is a very, very clear and very focused strategist," political analyst Thomas Hofer said.
The OVP and FPO, which overlap on issues including immigration policy and cutting taxes, governed together in a short-lived coalition that collapsed in 2019 when the far-right party's then leader was ensnared in a video-sting scandal.
While the fact Austria's economy has shrunk for a second year running helped the FPO capitalise on voters' concerns, it remains to be seen if Kickl can find a way with the OVP to reduce the budget deficit.
They also disagree over the war in Ukraine. Kickl and the FPO, allies of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party, oppose sanctions on Russia, saying they violate Austria's neutrality.
VOLKSKANZLER
Kickl, 56, cuts a more serious figure than his more gregarious predecessors like Haider. He shuns parties and has competed in Ironman-style ultra-triathlons.
He has cast himself as the future "Volkskanzler", or people's chancellor - a term the Nazis used for Adolf Hitler, though others have also used it.
"Never again Volkskanzler" read one placard as hundreds of protesters, including Jewish students, jeered Kickl outside Van der Bellen's office on Monday.
In 2010, Kickl said he opposed branding Hitler's Waffen-SS as "collectively guilty" for war crimes. The FPO's first leader in 1955 had been a senior SS officer and a Nazi minister.
Kickl has embraced conspiracy theories, claiming the de-worming agent ivermectin is effective against COVID-19, as did Donald Trump, who is now poised to return to the White House.
Yet Kickl's campaign against coronavirus restrictions like lockdowns and vaccine mandates helped revive his party's fortunes after it crashed out of government in 2019. Austria had the highest rate of vaccine holdouts in the EU.
When Kickl was interior minister in 2018 police raided the domestic intelligence agency's offices in what his opponents say was an attempt orchestrated by Kickl to purge it of OVP loyalists. Kickl denies that accusation.
Van der Bellen has said the raid led foreign intelligence agencies to reduce cooperation with Austria.
As that coalition collapsed, then-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz had Van Der Bellen sack Kickl.
Those may be among the reasons that Van der Bellen, a former leader of the left-wing Greens, said on Monday as he announced he had asked Kickl to form a government: "I did not take this step lightly."
(Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Gareth Jones)
A far-right leader could soon take the helm in EU member country Austria. Here's why it matters
PHILIPP JENNE and JAMEY KEATEN
Updated Mon, January 6, 2025
Austria's President Alexander Van der Bellen addresses the media during a news conference at the presidential office, in Vienna, Austria, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Heinz-Peter Bader)
VIENNA, Austria (AP) — A party that advocates an end to economic sanctions against Russia and has called for the “re-migration of uninvited foreigners” could soon give Austria its first government led by the far right since World War II, with a leader who has a provocative style at its helm.
Attempts to form a government without the far-right Freedom Party collapsed in recent days, more than three months after it won a parliamentary election. President Alexander Van der Bellen on Monday tasked its leader, Herbert Kickl, with trying to put together a coalition in the coming weeks or months.
The Freedom Party was founded in 1956 by former Nazis and, over the decades, has become an established political force in Austria. It has led provincial governments and served as a junior partner in national governments — but never led a national administration until now.
Here’s a look at the stakes if Kickl succeeds in forming a new government:
What brought Austria to this point?
The Freedom Party has come back strongly since its last stint in government ended in a scandal in 2019, benefiting from rising voter anger about immigration and inflation.
In September's legislative elections, the party won 28.8% of the vote, a nearly 13-point gain from four years earlier. The governing conservative Austrian People's Party came in second with 26.3% and the Social Democrats third with 21.1%.
It's usual for Austrian elections to result in coalitions, but this result was particularly complicated because none of the other party leaders at the time were prepared to go into government with the Freedom Party under Kickl.
The president asked outgoing Chancellor Karl Nehammer to try to set up a new government, but talks on potential coalitions without the far right stumbled over how to get Austria's budget in shape and revive the economy. On Saturday, Nehammer said he would resign.
Van der Bellen then called in Kickl – a sharp-tongued provocateur who last year mocked the now 80-year-old president as “a mummy” and “senile” – for talks that led to Monday’s offer for the Freedom Party to try to form a new government.
Who is Kickl?
The 56-year-old is known for overstepping accepted boundaries and shocking the political establishment.
A former speechwriter for late former far-right leader Jörg Haider and a longtime campaign strategist who coined catchy and provocative anti-immigration slogans, Kickl was interior minister from 2017 to 2019 when the Freedom Party was a junior partner in a coalition government under conservative then-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. He became the Freedom Party leader in June 2021.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kickl joined some other critics of the World Health Organization in advocating use of ivermectin, a medicine for treatment of parasitic worms in animals, to treat the disease.
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The Freedom Party over the years has attracted a neo-Nazi fringe, but it has publicly disassociated itself from decades of covert antisemitism. In 2015, a party lawmaker was expelled for backing an antisemitic comment on social media and Kickl, the party's general secretary at the time, said she had “crossed a red line.”
While interior minister in 2018, Kickl denied any intention of being provocative when he said asylum-seekers in Austria might be held “in a concentrated way in one place” as authorities assessed their applications.
The European Union is rattled again
Years after financial crisis drove a wedge in the European bloc, and nearly five years after Brexit, the European Union is facing a new sign of internal discord: The 27-member bloc has been a stalwart supporter of Ukraine, but unity is fraying.
Austria, which has a longstanding policy of military neutrality, has not provided weapons to Ukraine.
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Far-right movements have been on the rise in the EU in recent years. The U.S presidential election victory of Donald Trump – who shares many of their values and policy positions – in November has further emboldened them.
But concern lingers about the rise of hard-right movements in Europe.
Alon Ischay of the Austrian Union of Jewish Students said the turn to Kickl was “important" and expressed concerns about how the Freedom Party leader has used the term “Volkskanzler” — the people’s chancellor — which was used by the Nazis to describe Adolf Hitler in the 1930s. Kickl has rejected the comparison.
“That this person might get the mandate to form a government is unacceptable to us,” said Ischay, who was among hundreds of protesters outside the presidential palace on Monday.
The Freedom Party is pro-Russian and skeptical about EU mandates, calling for a “Fortress Austria” that can wrest decision-making power from Brussels. The party’s rise has coincided with rising voter anger about immigration and inflation.
The Freedom Party is part of a right-wing populist alliance in the European Parliament, Patriots for Europe.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, seen by many as the most pro-Russia leader of any EU country, hailed “an historic victory” for the Freedom Party after Austria's elections in September. Dutch right-wing leader Geert Wilders said his movement was “winning” in Europe.
___
Keaten contributed from Geneva.
Far-right Freedom Party of Austria tasked with forming government
DPA
Mon, January 6, 2025
Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen meets with Freedom Party of Austria (FPOE )Federal Party Chairman Herbert Kickl (R) at the Presidency Chancellery in Vienna. Tobias Steinmaurer/APA/dpa
Austrian President Alexander van der Bellen has officially tasked the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) with forming a government.
Van der Bellen made the announcement at a press conference in Vienna on Monday after a meeting with FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl.
The way was cleared for the FPÖ potentially to lead an Austrian government for the first time after Christian Stocker, the newly designated leader of the conservative Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), said on Sunday that his party is prepared to engage in negotiations with Kickl.
Stocker was appointed by his party after Chancellor Karl Nehammer announced his resignation on Saturday following the collapse of previous coalition negotiations with centrist parties.
During the conversation, Kickl assured him that he was confident of being able to fulfil the role of chancellor, van der Bellen said.
"Respect for the electorate's vote requires that the president respect the majority," even if he himself might have other wishes and ideas, van der Bellen said.
"I did not take this step lightly," he said.
Van der Bellen and Kickl's hour-long meeting was accompanied by protests. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in front of the presidential office to voice their opposition to the far-right taking power.
Auschwitz Committee horrified
The International Auschwitz Committee reacted with dismay to the mandate received by the FPÖ to form a government in Vienna.
This mandate was given to a party that is "more involved in right-wing extremist and neo-Nazi thinking and activities than almost any other," the organization's Executive Vice President Christoph Heubner said on Monday.
This was "particularly difficult to bear for Holocaust survivors," he said. "For Holocaust survivors, this day marks another dark climax on the road to European oblivion."
It was painful that more and more voters are entrusting their votes to far-right parties and backing ideologies that plunged Europe into the abyss in the past, according to Heubner.
The International Auschwitz Committee was founded by survivors of the German Nazi extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau.
FPÖ has the upper hand
The FPÖ won the parliamentary elections in September with just under 29% of the vote. While initially no one wanted to govern with the party, the dynamic changed as Nehammer struggled to form a coalition with parties in Austria's political mainstream.
Should the FPÖ and the ÖVP fail to agree on a government programme, the right-wing populists would have few issues facing a fresh election.
According to recent opinion polls, their share of the vote has once again increased significantly to at least 35% since the parliamentary elections three months ago.
In addition, the FPÖ's coffers are well stocked, unlike those of other parties.
For the ÖVP, the role of the smaller alliance partner would be quite problematic. "You don't win anything as a junior partner," political analyst Thomas Hofer explained.
It remains to be seen how long the new ÖVP party leader Christian Stocker will remain in office. He also noted that a comeback by the once popular former chancellor and ÖVP leader Sebastian Kurz is not beyond the realm of possibility.
Kurz has ruled out returning to the role, sources close to the former chancellor said on Sunday.
Bridging differences
The conservative ÖVP and the far-right FPÖ had already formed coalitions in the 2000s and between 2017 and 2019 – albeit with the ÖVP always holding the top role of chancellor.
There are still hurdles to Kickl becoming chancellor, however, namely the need for the two parties to agree on a government programme.
On issues such as migration and taxes, the two parties appear to largely agree. But there are stark differences between the Moscow-friendly and eurosceptic far- right and the ÖVP over foreign and security policy.
Budget woes
Another potential point of contention is how to overcome Austria's budget crisis.
"There is also no common plan for overcoming the deep budget crisis," Christoph Badelt, president of the Austrian Fiscal Advisory Council, said on ORF radio.
It is questionable whether a new chancellor from the FPÖ would want to start with unpopular austerity measures or tax increases, Badelt continued.
"We all don't know what the FPÖ would actually be willing to do when it comes to budget consolidation," he said.
Austria needs to restructure its budget to avoid EU deficit proceedings. The EU's budget rules stipulate that the annual budget deficit in EU states must not exceed 3% of gross domestic product (GDP). In addition, the debt level should not exceed 60% of GDP.
The European Commission expects Austria to have a budget deficit of around 3.6% in both 2025 and 2026.
Freedom Party of Austria (FPOE )Federal Party Chairman Herbert Kickl (2-L) arrives at the Presidency Chancellery in Vienna to meet with President Alexander Van der Bellen. Tobias Steinmaurer/APA/dpa
Far-right Freedom Party gets chance to form government in Austria
Mathias Hammer
Mon, January 6, 2025
The News
Austria’s far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) has been given the task of forming Vienna’s next government, after talks between mainstream parties collapsed last week.
Austria’s President Alexander Van der Bellen on Monday met with Herbert Kickl, the FPÖ’s leader, to give him the chance to attempt to form a government with the conservative Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP).
“I did not take this step lightly,” Van der Bellen said. “I may have certain wishes, but respect for the voters dictates that I accept this majority.”
The Austrian Freedom Party became the biggest party in parliament when it won 28.8% of the vote in elections in September last year.
SIGNALS
Coalition talks could take months, but are expected to succeedSources: The New York Times, Die Presse, Kronen Zeitung, Financial Times
Negotiations between the FPÖ and ÖVP could take months, but analysts told the New York Times that the talks could go more smoothly than previous efforts to form a new government. The two parties largely agree on deregulation, not introducing new taxes, and migration, a columnist wrote in Austrian newspaper Die Presse. Adding pressure on the ÖVP to reach an agreement is the fact that the Freedom Party could poll as high as 37% in a snap election, even as the center-right party would be expected to slump in the polls. If talks fail, a snap election is likely, and the ÖVP’s leadership is skeptical that it could turn things around in a new round of voting, the Financial Times reported.
Far-right government in Austria could complicate EU’s Ukraine policySource: Financial Times
If the FPÖ succeeds in forming a coalition, it could complicate the European Union’s policy on combating the war in Ukraine. The party opposes sanctions against Russia and has pushed for Austria to stop contributing to the EU’s support for Ukraine. It has also forged closer ties with Hungary’s strongman leader Viktor Orbán, forming a new alliance in the European Parliament to push for peace talks with Russia. The far-right party has long been accused of close ties to the Kremlin, and signed a cooperation agreement with Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party in 2016, a deal that expired in 2021. The Freedom Party maintains it is the only party taking Austria’s tradition of neutrality, which is enshrined in its constitution, seriously.
Austria heads towards coalition talks led by far right after centrists fail
Francois Murphy
Updated Sun, January 5, 2025
Austria heads towards coalition talks led by far right after centrists fail
Austria's People's Party (OEVP) presents election campaign posters in Vienna
VIENNA (Reuters) -Austria headed on Sunday towards coalition talks led by the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) after efforts to form a centrist government without the FPO fell apart and prompted Chancellor Karl Nehammer to resign.
Nehammer, who announced he was quitting late on Saturday, had led three- and then two-party talks aimed at forging a centrist coalition that could serve as a bulwark against the eurosceptic, Russia-friendly FPO, which came first in September's parliamentary election with around 29% of the vote.
Nehammer's conservative People's Party (OVP) appointed Secretary-General Christian Stocker on Sunday as its new leader in an interim capacity. Stocker has long repeated Nehammer's position that the OVP would not govern with FPO leader Herbert Kickl, but said on Sunday things had now changed.
"I expect that the leader of the party with the most votes will be tasked with forming a future government. If we are invited to these (coalition) talks, we will accept this invitation," Stocker told reporters.
"It is therefore not about Herbert Kickl or me, but about the fact that this country needs a stable government right now."
The OVP is the only parliamentary party not to have ruled out a coalition with the FPO outright, and together they would have a majority in parliament. Nehammer focused his fire on Kickl, arguing he was a conspiracy theorist. Kickl insisted he would be chancellor in any FPO-led government.
President Alexander Van der Bellen, a former leader of the left-wing Greens who has voiced reservations about Kickl becoming chancellor, infuriated the FPO by not asking it to form a government soon after the election on the grounds that no other party was willing to join it in a coalition.
While saying the situation had now changed, Van der Bellen stopped short of tasking Kickl with forming a government. He is due to meet Kickl at 11 a.m. (1000 GMT) on Monday.
"Voices within the People's Party that rule out cooperation with an FPO under Herbert Kickl have become much quieter. This in turn means that a new path may be opening up that did not exist before," Van der Bellen said in an address to the nation.
GROWING SUPPORT FOR FPO
The FPO has been a junior partner in coalition governments before, most recently with the OVP from 2017 to 2019, but it has never led one since it was formed in the 1950s under a leader who had been an SS officer and Nazi lawmaker.
The failure of Nehammer's coalition talks highlights the growing difficulty for centrist parties in many European countries in forming stable governments without a far right that is gaining ground.
Opinion polls suggest FPO support has continued to grow, extending its lead over the OVP and Social Democrats to more than 10 percentage points while their support has shrunk.
The OVP and FPO overlap on various issues, particularly taking a tough line on immigration.
The thorniest issue in the centrists' talks however was how to shrink the budget deficit, which is forecast to exceed the EU's limit of 3% of economic output in 2024 and 2025.
While both parties call for tax cuts, the FPO has pledged to take a knife to some of the OVP's vested interests, such as the powerful Chamber of Commerce. They clash over the FPO's opposition to aid for Ukraine in its war against Russia, and current plans for a missile defence system.
The FPO, which is allied with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party, says it is defending Austria's neutrality.
Kickl issued a short statement on Facebook denouncing the failed talks.
"We are not responsible for the lost time, chaotic conditions and enormous damage to trust that has been caused," he said.
(Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise, Helen Popper and Jan Harvey)
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