Coalition crisis in Austria: ÖVP and Neos pull the ripcord!

Coalition crisis in Austria: ÖVP and Neos pull the ripcord!

In a dramatic political turning point, the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) ended the coalition negotiations with the NEOS and the SPÖ abruptly on Sunday. Minister of Economic Affairs and ÖVP General Secretary Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer, who played a central role in the negotiations, expressed sharp criticism of the SPÖ's approaches to negotiations. "In the negotiations, we experienced a total rescue of the SPÖ until the end," reported Hattmannsdorfer in Kurier . These were not ready to seriously treat the country's prosperity and competitiveness.

As the KURIER reported, the Neos withdrew their participation in the negotiations on Friday, which made the situation of the ÖVP more difficult. Now the People's Party is looking for a successor to Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who has announced his resignation, while the FPÖ is already brought into play as a possible junior partner. Hattmannsdorfer emphasized in the Austria Discussion that a pro-European policy is requested by the FPÖ guarantee.

domestic policy tensions

The tensions between the parties escalated when SPÖ boss Andreas Babler blamed the ÖVP for the failure of the talks. He accused the economic wing of the ÖVP, which has flirted with the FPÖ since the start of the negotiations, and demanded that affordable energy prices should be on profit maximization. Hattmannsdorfer countered that the support of jobs and prosperity was the main goal of the ÖVP and accused the SPÖ to be only interested in redistribution.

The failure of the negotiations not only shaken the political landscape in Austria, but also raised central economic issues that the next government has to tackle. The focus is now on the upcoming steps of the ÖVP and the FPÖ and the possible formation of a new coalition.