Neos withdraws from coalition negotiations - what does that mean for Vienna?

Neos withdraws from coalition negotiations - what does that mean for Vienna?

The politically charged atmosphere in Austria has experienced a new shock: Beate Meinl-Reisinger, the head of the Neos, announced on Friday at a hastily convened press conference in Vienna that your party stops the coalition negotiations with the ÖVP and the SPÖ. This happened after talks in which it became clear that a breakthrough in the negotiations was impossible. "There was always a no for basic reforms," she explained and also informed the party leader Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) and Andreas Babler (SPÖ) and the Federal President Alexander van der Bellen about the decision, such as vienna.at reported.

political negotiations under pressure

The complex situation in Austria followed the National Council elections at the end of September, in which the right -wing populist FPÖ became the strongest force in parliament. Despite its 28.85 percent of the votes, the FPÖ could not find a partner for government formation, which led to the negotiations between the ÖVP, SPÖ and Neos. Negotiations were particularly delicate topics such as economy and taxes, while ÖVP boss Karl Nehammer even took an interruption of the talks, such as FAZ.net found.

The immediate cancellation on the part of the NEOS shows how fragile the political balance of power in Austria is currently and makes questions arise about the future political orientation of the country. It remains to be seen whether the remaining parties can form an alternative government or whether Austria will immerse themselves in an even deeper political crisis.