FPÖ shortly before Chancellery: Will Herbert Kickl be the new boss in Austria?

FPÖ shortly before Chancellery: Will Herbert Kickl be the new boss in Austria?

In Austria, the Freedom Party (FPÖ) is about to take over the Chancellery. Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen has given FPÖ boss Herbert Kickl the official government mandate, which could have been a novelty for the right-wing populist party to date. This step takes place in the middle of a deep political upheaval: after the coalition negotiations between the ÖVP and other parties fail, the FPÖ is now given the opportunity to take up discussions about a possible cooperation with the conservative ÖVP, such as vienna.at reported.

The FPÖ, which received almost 29 percent of the votes in the parliamentary election in September 2024, sparked the interest of the ÖVP, which is willing to form a government as a junior partner under its new party leader Christian Stocker. It is expected that the two parties represent similar views in migration and tax issues. Nevertheless, there are significant differences in foreign and security policy. The FPÖ refuses to join the planned European air defense system "Sky Shield" and has a critical attitude towards Russia sanctions, whereas the ÖVP is pursuing a pro-Ukrainian line, like Tagesspiegel noted.

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