Coalition crisis in Austria: FPÖ and ÖVP on the verge of collapse?

Coalition crisis in Austria: FPÖ and ÖVP on the verge of collapse?

The coalition negotiations between the FPÖ and the ÖVP are entering the hot phase. There will be further discussions on Monday to clarify the controversial points in the distribution of departments. In the last few days there had been a heated competition for the ministries, which even brought the negotiations to a standstill. According to a meeting of party leaders, there was a compromise proposal on Friday, which, however, raised both substantive and strategic concerns from the ÖVP, as it sees the awarding of the interior and finance ministries to the FPÖ as “unacceptable”. OTONews reported.

Substantive differences escalate

Tensions are rising as the parties fight over the ministries - the FPÖ is demanding, among other things, the Chancellery, the Finance and Interior Ministries as well as control over EU, media and cultural issues. In return, there were rumors that the FPÖ offered the ÖVP to take over the Foreign Ministry. Fundamental differences in foreign and EU policy, asylum issues and even dealings with the European Court of Human Rights appear to remain. A log circulating over the weekend shows numerous red flags indicating unresolved conflicts, it was reported ORF.

There is a lot of need for discussion, particularly around the hot topic of asylum. The FPÖ would like to demand a suspension of the right to asylum “through emergency law”, which is met with complete resistance from the ÖVP. The renegotiations are crucial not only for the two parties, but also for the stability of the Austrian government as a whole, especially as the clock is ticking until the next election. Despite all the struggles over coalition issues, the tense situation remains; A failure of the negotiations could have far-reaching consequences.