Austria in crisis mode: coalition negotiations failed!

Austria in crisis mode: coalition negotiations failed!

The political landscape in Austria has falter again! FPÖ boss Herbert Kickl has to bury his dream of a chancellery after the coalition negotiations with the conservative ÖVP have completely failed under the leadership of Christian Stocker. This demolition does not come as a surprise; Even ago, tensions between the two parties indicated an upcoming failure. On Tuesday, Kickl and Stocker only spoke to each other for twenty minutes to explain to the public that they wanted to continue to negotiate. However, reality was different, as the communication break between the party leaders shows that ran through social media and press releases instead of direct discussions.

end of the talks and the distribution of the ministries

Bitter words and distrust shaped the last days of negotiations. During the last meeting, Kickl asked the ÖVP's key departments finance and inner and other essential ministries, which the conservatives rejected as unrealistic. The discussion about the Ministry of the Interior, which both sides wanted to claim, revealed how far the fronts were apart. Unrest also arose when a secret protocol was published on the state of negotiations, which revealed conflict points such as the recognition of EU law standards and the conditions for asylum and migration. These differences ultimately led to the end of the conversations.

These failed negotiations are already the second attempt to form a government after the elections in September. Previously, discussions about a triple alliance between the ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS had already failed, which increased uncertainty in the government. As a result, a possible new election is speculated, since the outgoing government has only been in office since October. SPÖ boss Andreas Babler and Neos beach Beate Meinl-Reisinger have already signaled that they are ready for new negotiations, which could be tempting under the current circumstances for the ÖVP. Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen will have talks with the parties in the coming days to explore options for the next phase of political development in Austria, such as the NZZ reported.