The breakdown of coalition talks, which officially started in November, has bolstered the position of Austria’s anti-migrant, pro-Russia Freedom Party (FPÖ). Despite doubling its vote share and emerging as the leading party in September’s national election, the FPÖ remains sidelined, as all other major parties have been unwilling to collaborate with it to form a government.
In the aftermath of the failed negotiations, FPÖ General Secretary Michael Schnedlitz demanded the resignation of Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, describing the coalition effort as a “political monstrosity” and a “loser-traffic-light coalition.”
Even though the NEOS party has withdrawn from the talks, the Social Democrats (SPÖ) and People’s Party (ÖVP) still have the possibility of continuing discussions to form a two-party coalition. Together, the SPÖ and ÖVP control 92 of the 183 seats in Austria’s lower house of parliament, giving them an exceedingly narrow majority of just one seat.













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