Negotiations between FPÖ and ÖVP: Big hurdles before coalition professionals!

Negotiations between FPÖ and ÖVP: Big hurdles before coalition professionals!

In a dramatic comeback, negotiations between the FPÖ and the ÖVP resumed today, February 10, 2025. After there was a standstill the previous week and there was even “radio silence” between the parties, the party leaders Herbert Kickl (FPÖ) and Christian Stocker (ÖVP) met again at the negotiating table 5min.at reported. The incidents ranged from irreconcilable differences in the allocation of portfolios to heated discussions regarding the Interior Ministry, which both parties claim as their own.

The FPÖ offered the ÖVP the Foreign Ministry at the weekend, which should also include the EU competencies that were previously located in the Chancellery. However, the Interior Ministry remains the sticking point in the talks. Loud The press The ÖVP has signaled that it could do without the finance department, but it would be “unbearable” for it to lose both departments to the Freedom Party. Meanwhile, minutes from the negotiations emerged that point to fundamental differences, for example with regard to asylum policy and the financing of social services.

Strong demands from the FPÖ

In the most recent negotiations, the FPÖ is calling for “pushbacks” at the external borders and would like to suspend the right to asylum through an “emergency law”. The FPÖ also shows clear positions with regard to medical services for asylum seekers, which are to be reduced on the basis of “necessary basic care”, but this is met with heated controversy. The coalition still has the possibility of coming into being, but Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen is already preparing for possible alternatives - be it new elections or an expert government if the negotiations fail.