Coalition crisis in Austria: New alliance on the horizon?

Coalition crisis in Austria: New alliance on the horizon?

The political situation in Austria is in motion: After months of negotiations, a new triangle from the conservative ÖVP, the social democratic SPÖ and the liberal Neos may be imminent. This development has been canceled after the talks with the Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen, who warned the parties to be willing to compromise. Originally, party leader Christian Stocker (ÖVP), Andreas Babler (SPÖ) and Beate Meinl-Reisinger (NEOS) were to report on the progress of the negotiations in the official residence of the Federal President, which was unexpectedly canceled due to the progressive complexity. According to kosmo require the conversations additional time and clarity, which also indicates existing differences between the parties.

new coalition offer in the game

The interaction between the ÖVP and SPÖ had taken a dramatic turn when an offer for the formation of a so-called “Suckerl coalition” was in the room last night, also known as a traffic light coalition. The NEOs, who had previously demolished the negotiations, were now open to a new entry into the talks after a job offered by two ministries and a state secretary brought the parties back to a table. Despite the positive developments, the three parties emphasized that the negotiations have to be continued in order to achieve a possible coalition agreement, and an opinion on the status of the talks is expected today. Also daily news reported that the future distribution of the ministries is a central topic in order to avoid an impending deficit procedure.

In the past few months there have been several failed coalition talks, both with the FPÖ and between the current negotiating partners. In the last elections, the FPÖ won 29 percent of the votes, while the ÖVP and SPÖ can only achieve a majority of votes in the National Council. If an agreement is reached between the parties, the ÖVP boss Christian Stocker could come into office as the new Chancellor. The political observers are excited to see whether a general meeting of the NEOS will decide on the coalition agreement next week.