Negotiations to form a coalition government between the far-right Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) and the conservative Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) have broken down in Austria on Wednesday.
FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl announced the failure of the talks after a meeting with Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen in Vienna. Kickl said he was returning the mandate to form a government because the parties failed to agree on the distribution of key ministerial posts.
Herbert Kickl said ÖVP members “fulfil their own needs in many directions” during the talks. The Austrian People’s Party, for its part, claims that the failure is due to “Herbert Kickl’s lust for power and uncompromising stance.”
“Although we fulfilled the ÖVP’s demands on many points during the negotiations, the negotiations, to our regret, ultimately failed. That is why today, February 12, 2025, I am resigning from my mandate to form a government,” Herbert Kickl said.
Austrian media reported that the ÖVP and FPÖ could not agree on the distribution of control over the agencies. The far-right, in particular, planned to appoint its representative to the post of the head of the Interior Ministry, but the ÖVP did not support this option. The reason for disagreements was also positions on anti-Russian sanctions and co-operation with NATO.
Snap elections or the formation of an interim government under the leadership of the president are now possible. The left-wing parties have already called for new coalition talks without the FPÖ, but their previous attempt to agree failed.
However, the FPÖ is not afraid of new elections: while the party won 29% of the vote in the autumn 2024 parliamentary elections, its support has now risen to 34%, according to opinion polls. Until a new government is formed in the country, the current ministers from the ÖVP and the Greens will continue in office.
