Coalition drama in Austria: FPÖ and ÖVP in the negotiation poker!

The coalition negotiations between the FPÖ and the ÖVP are faced with a difficult phase. While there is still no decisive progress in the division of department, it was announced that FPÖ boss Herbert Kickl was expected on Thursday in the Hofburg for a meeting with Federal President Alexander van der Bellen. Previous discussions about unresolved differences in content led to a dispute over the desired distribution of important ministries, in particular the Ministry of the Interior and the Finance department, which the FPÖ claims for itself, such as krone.at reports. However, these ministries are also of great importance for the ÖVP, which makes negotiations even more difficult.

Kickl aims to underline his party's leadership claims in central political questions such as migration and finance. He demands a restrictive asylum policy and has indicated that Austria should no longer accept asylum applications in order to make the country "less attractive to asylum seekers". He supports this course with the demand that asylum seekers and entitled to asylum should no longer receive cash benefits and only receive fundamental benefits in kind, as from a report by Kurier.at . The FPÖ will bring these applications to the National Council this week. Kickl feels the current situation as a "migration of nations", emphasizing the danger of "civil war -like conditions", a statement that is very sensitive to the public.

urgency of the conversations and economic concerns

On Thursday, not only the department negotiations at Kickls meet with van der Bellen are decisive, but also the economic framework of the FPÖ. Kickl's criticism of the government's previous budget policy indicates serious concerns about the financial burdens of asylum and migration, with a forecast of 120,000 asylum applications for the current year. For 2023 alone, 307.8 million euros are planned for foreign beings. These are all points that strain the negotiations and that have to be clarified quickly, you want to form a stable coalition.