Austria on the home stretch: The Zuckerl coalition is imminent!

Austria on the home stretch: The Zuckerl coalition is imminent!

In Austria, the “Post carousel” has taken on a speed: a new government coalition from the conservative ÖVP, the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) and the liberal Neos is just around the corner. According to krone.at , almost all ministries have already been assigned, and the timetable for the new government is defined. This "sugar coalition" is expected to consist of 14 ministers, three state secretaries and the Chancellor, which corresponds to an average of almost even distributions between the parties.

The ÖVP and the SPÖ are expected to nominate six ministers and a state secretary each, while the NEOs are to receive two ministers and a state secretary. The current comparison of both parties shows the ÖVP with 26.27 percent, the SPÖ with 21.14 percent and the NEOS with 9.14 percent. This is a huge step after several failed coalition talks, especially with the right -wing populist FPÖ. As zdf.de , Federal President Alexander van der Bellen signaled that progress has been made and the coalition is now on the appeared.

The background

The coalition negotiations won the trip after the unsuccessful talks in January when the three parties decided to take a new attempt. Van der Bellen emphasized the need for willingness to compromise to overcome the political blockages. He emphasized that the formation of such a coalition would take place for the first time at the federal level after previous attempts had failed.

The public mood is tense, especially after the massive protests against a possible FPÖ-led government that mobilized tens of thousands of people. Now it remains to be seen how the new constellation will develop in Austrian politics and the effects of this coalition on the impending challenges of the government.