Government chaos in Austria: New elections threaten - what now?

Government chaos in Austria: New elections threaten - what now?

Vorarlberg, Österreich - After the failure of the coalition negotiations, Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen is now faced with a decision between four possible alternatives: new elections, an expert government, a minority government or again negotiations between several parties. Political scientist Markus Rhomberg expressed the urgent need to quickly form a government with broad parliamentary support. If this does not succeed, new elections could soon become a reality. "If government formation that has a wide range of majority in parliament will not soon occur, I assume that we will vote again in the near future," said Rhomberg. The current situation has led to the longest government negotiations in the history of the second republic, as ORF reports.

government without majority - challenges and solutions

In the meantime, the Federal Government, under Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), has lost the absolute majority in parliament because the FDP leaked out of the coalition. In order to continue to be able to decide on laws, the head of government is now dependent on the support from the ranks of the opposition. Minority governments are situations in which a government relies on cooperation of factions that do not maintain the required majority in parliament. These circumstances bring about considerable challenges, because without a stable majority, the enforcement of legislative proposals becomes a feat. As explained Bundesag.de , the Chancellor had to find a consensus with different fractions when he formed his government.

The lack of a parliamentary majority forces the minority government to make strategic agreements with other parties in order to obtain the necessary votes for resolutions. This is not only politically challenging, but also time -consuming, since the government has to regularly conduct negotiations in order to form majorities. The formation of a minority government could lead to instability in the long term, which also increases the possibility of new elections, no viable solutions should be found. These developments illustrate how crucial the political landscape is not only at federal, but also at the state level, which is emphasized by Rhomberg. This situation could well remind of past political crises, where several elections were necessary in a very short time.