Chaos in Austrian politics: NEOS pull the connector at the coalition!

Chaos in Austrian politics: NEOS pull the connector at the coalition!

In Austrian politics, there were recently significant turbulence when Beate Meinl-Reisinger, the head of the Neos, surprisingly announced that her party stopped the coalition negotiations that started due to the National Council election in 2024 with the ÖVP and SPÖ. This happened during a press conference on January 3, 2025, where she explained that no progress could be made because the necessary repair would not be contrasted with reforms. The NEOs, who had received 9.1 percent of the vote, saw the reasons for the failure of the discussions in several decisive topics such as budget, pension policy and taxes, such as Klick-kaernten.at This development questions the planned first three-party coalition in Austria.

political negotiations are on the brink

The pressure on the two remaining parties, the ÖVP and the SPÖ, grows. Both parties who have a total of 183 mandates in the National Council have so far not been able to attempt. Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen has invited the two party leaders, Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) and Andreas Babler (SPÖ), to have incoming talks and expects a “quick and comprehensive clarity”. However, there was no progress before the press conference of Meinl-Reisinger, and the constant back and forth indicates an uncertain political future, such as Brusselsignal.eu determined.

In particular, the ÖVP has spoken out against a coalition with the FPÖ, which won the election with 28.8 percent, in order not to give the government of the legal spectrum led by Herbert Kickl. The conversations between Nehammer and Babler, which are described as difficult and with ideological differences, show how precarious the situation for stable government formation is. Now it remains to be seen whether a new agreement is still coming up or whether new elections, which may take place in April 2025, are inevitable.