Austrian FPO Leader Kickl Meets President to Seek Coalition Mandate

Vienna (Eurotoday) – FPO leader Herbert Kickl holds talks with Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen. He hoped to be assigned with creating a coalition government.

Austria’s far-right Freedom Party (FPO) leader arrived for his engagement at Van der Bellen’s office as scheduled at 11 a.m. (1000 GMT). Van der Bellen was due to state the media less than an hour after the meeting concluded. President Van der Bellen enraged the FPO by not trusting it to form an administration soon after the election since no possible coalition partner was forthcoming. 

That assignment fell to the conservative People’s Party (OVP) and its head, Chancellor Karl Nehammer. Nehammer’s attempt to form an alliance of the three and two parties with another centrist group was unsuccessful, and he was finally forced to tell the public his resignation. The negotiations between the centre-liberal Neos party and coalition talks with conservatives and the Social Democratic People’s Party (ÖVP) and Social Democrats (SPÖ) finally collapsed.

What challenges does Austria face after Nehammer’s resignation?

Such a collapse of these talks places Austria in a sensitive political position because, although other parties excluded it from discussing possible coalition negotiations with the far-right Freedom Party, FPÖ, which secured almost 30% of the votes during the elections of September, other parties would hardly seek alliances with this party, or indeed hold new elections. The ÖVP is likely to meet after the resignation announcement made by Nehammer to discuss the possible successors and strategies. It will be very challenging for the new government in terms of overcoming a financial gap estimated between €18 billion and €24 billion, unemployment figures, and an EU-limited budget deficit.

In the recently concluded national parliamentary elections held in Austria in September 2024, the Freedom Party (FPÖ) made a historical victory after gaining around 29.2% of the votes. For the first time in Austria after World War II, it became the main winning party by taking over national elections. 

The largest opposition comes from the Austrian People’s Party, under Chancellor Karl Nehammer, which was able to garner close to 26.0% of the vote and take second place after losing its former majority in parliament. The current result clearly marks a huge swing in public opinion as most former conservative voters move towards the FPÖ.