Austrian conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer announced this Saturday, January 4, that he will leave his functions as chancellor and president of his party “in the coming days”, after having ended negotiations with the Social Democrats to try to form the next government. “I will allow an orderly transition,” he said in a written and video message posted on the social network X, more than three months after the legislative elections of September 29.
This unexpected decision could lead to early elections or force the conservatives to negotiate with the far right, which came first in the legislative elections. It comes the day after the decision of the liberal Neos party to withdraw from tripartite negotiations aimed at forming a centrist government, the aim of which was to remove the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ, far right) from power. The FPÖ had gathered 28.8% of the votes in the legislative elections, but was unable to find allies to form a government in the Alpine EU member country.
“bulwark against the radicals”
The Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP, conservatives) came in second place with 26.3% of the vote, followed by the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ, center-left) with 21.1%. These results led Karl Nehammer to initiate discussions with the SPÖ and Neos (9% of the vote) to form a government and block the far right. But the negotiations failed. 24 hours after Neos’ departure, the chancellor announced on X that “an agreement with the SPÖ is impossible on key issues” and that “therefore” he was “ending negotiations with the SPÖ”.
The main areas of contention cited by Austrian media are wealth tax, inheritance taxes, pensions, and differences over how to control the budget deficit. Karl Nehammer lamented not having been able to create a “force of political centrism in order to build a bulwark against the radicals”. “I have the deep conviction that radicals do not offer the solution to a single problem, but only live to highlight the problems,” he added, claiming to have “always fought for stability”, even if it was “not sexy in politics”.
In a statement, the leader of the far-right party, Herbert Kickl, described the parties involved in the coalition discussions as “losers”. “Instead of stability, we have chaos” after three “wasted months,” he added. The leader of the Social Democrats, Andreas Babler, estimated that those who, within the conservative party, “have always flirted” with the extreme right “have won”, pointing out the risk of an “FPÖ-ÖVP government with a far-right extremist chancellor.
Towards new elections?
On Friday, President Alexander Van der Bellen called on the ÖVP and SPÖ to form a government “without delay”. He initially asked the conservatives to form a stable government that respects the “foundations of our liberal democracy.” In the past, he has repeatedly expressed reservations about the radical leader of the FPÖ, Herbert Kickl.
If the ÖVP conservatives decide to form a government with the far-right FPÖ, the president “must prepare to induct Kickl as chancellor”, political analyst Peter Filzmaier warned AFP. If the two parties do not engage in discussions or fail to agree, “there will be new elections”, he added. The latest polls place the FPÖ at around 35%.
A coalition of three parties to form a government would have been a first since 1949 in Austria, where the economy is losing momentum while the public deficit is soaring. The conservative chancellor had already warned that the coalition discussions, which began in October – initially without the liberals – promised to be difficult.
The ÖVP has participated in the various governments of the country of 9 million inhabitants since 1987. It has already governed twice with the FPÖ as a minority partner, in 2000 and in 2017. Chancellor Nehammer said he was open to discussions with the FPÖ, but he has always ruled out working with its leader Herbert Kickl.