Coalition negotiations start: FPÖ and ÖVP rely on a stable government!

Coalition negotiations start: FPÖ and ÖVP rely on a stable government!

After the Styrian state elections, coalition negotiations between the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) are gaining momentum. Election winner Mario Kunasek (FPÖ) and ÖVP leader Christopher Drexler met at Graz Airport on Tuesday morning to discuss the first steps towards forming a stable state government. A central point of the meeting was a “cash collapse”, in which the country's financial scope for action was to be examined more closely, as already mentioned by oe24.at reported.

Kunasek expressed optimism about the prospect of cooperation and noted that there are already “many overlaps” between the two parties. He emphasized that the negotiations should be open-ended, but that the urgency for rapid political progress prevails. Drexler, in turn, explained that there was a constructive basis for discussion and that it was important not to waste any time because Styria as a business location was under scrutiny. The discussions will be organized in topic clusters, with central content for the future government program as well as the new state government election to be developed by December 18th derStandard.de reported.

Negotiation teams in action

A team of three people was appointed by each party to negotiate. In addition to Kunasek, the FPÖ negotiators consist of state party secretary Stefan Hermann and club director Michael Klug, while the ÖVP is represented by Drexler and the two previous state councilors Werner Amon and Barbara Eibinger-Miedl. There is also the possibility of a fourth member supporting the teams in certain areas. The pressure on both parties is high because if the talks are successful, the FPÖ will be classified as the junior partner of the ÖVP in the sixth state government of a federal state after Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Salzburg, and Vorarlberg, which will further shape the political landscape in Austria.