Government talks fail, Austrian Chancellor resigns

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer has announced his resignation after talks to form a coalition government collapsed amid disagreements.

"I will resign as chancellor and leader of the [Austrian] People's Party in the coming days and facilitate an orderly transition," Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer announced in a video posted on social network X on January 4.

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer

The announcement came after talks to form a coalition government between the Austrian People's Party (OVP) and the Social Democratic Party (SPO) collapsed, with both sides accusing each other of failing to compromise on policy, Reuters reported. The New and Free Austrian Forum (NEOS) also withdrew from the talks a day earlier, criticizing the other parties for not committing to the policies NEOS wanted.

In the Austrian parliamentary elections held in September, the Freedom Party (FPO) won the most votes for the first time, with around 29%. The FPO is a far-right, anti-immigration, Eurosceptic party. With no other party willing to cooperate with the FPO, President Alexander Van der Bellen handed the task of forming a government to Mr. Nehammer's OVP.

With Austrian Chancellor Nehammer resigning, the two most likely developments are that the FPO will again look for a partner to form a coalition government or that new elections will be held.

Mr Nehammer said that FPO leader Herbert Kickl is a conspiracy theorist and would be a difficult person to lead a government, although he considered the FPO trustworthy. However, Mr Kickl is not an outsider in the FPO, which shares similar views with the OVP on policies such as immigration. The OVP and FPO were in power together from 2017-2019, with FPO leader Sebastian Kurz as chancellor.

According to Reuters, OVP leaders will meet on January 5 to choose Mr. Nehammer's successor.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/dam-phan-lap-chinh-phu-that-bai-thu-tuong-ao-tu-chuc-185250105091629177.htm