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Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer announced his resignation after the failure of many months of efforts to create a centrist coalition excluding the far right.
The country faces the possibility of holding latest elections after failing to form a government without the anti-immigration, pro-Russian Freedom Party (FPÖ), which secured a historic first place in the nationwide vote in September.
Nehammer, who also announced he would step down as leader of the moderately conservative People’s Party (ÖVP), was tasked by the country’s president with trying to form a coalition in spite of everything other parties in parliament ruled out working with hard-line FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl.
The 52-year-old, who has been chancellor since 2021, when his predecessor Sebastian Kurz stepped down amid a corruption investigation, has sought an agreement with the Social Democrats and the small, liberal Neos party.
However, on Friday Neos abruptly withdrew from the talks, and on Saturday Nehammer announced that he was abandoning efforts to form a government.
“Unfortunately, I must say today that the negotiations have ended and the People’s Party will not continue them,” he said in a video statement on the X social media platform.
“In the coming days, I will step down as chancellor and leader of the People’s Party and enable an orderly transition.”
Nehammer said that “destructive forces” inside the Social Democratic Party had “gained the upper hand” in the negotiations and that his party was not willing to join to its proposed economic program.
Social Democrat leader Andreas Babler expressed regret over the ÖVP’s decision to end the talks, adding that his party was willing to compromise. “This is not a good decision for our country,” he said.
The failure of the negotiations deepens political uncertainty in Austria at a time when its economy risks contracting for a 3rd consecutive yr in 2025. The country also faces the challenge of finding budget cuts value between 18 and 24 billion euros, the figures show. from the European Commission.
One possibility is latest elections, but this might risk further strengthening the Freedom Party – polls show that the far-right party has gained support since the September vote, when it won 29%.
The ÖVP must also begin trying to find a brand new leader, with officials scheduled to meet on Sunday to discuss the process.
Austrian political analysts already speculated on Saturday that Kurz may seek to regain the leadership of the ÖVP, after the former chancellor’s biographer in an article published in the German day by day Bild suggested that individuals close to him were considering the probabilities of a political comeback.
While Nehammer has all the time ruled out working with far-right leader Kickel, who has pushed the Freedom Party even further to the right since taking the helm in 2021, Babler warned of the danger that his successor as leader of the conservative party would strike a take care of him.
“We know what’s threatening now. An FPÖ-ÖVP government with a right-wing extremist chancellor will threaten our democracy in lots of respects,” he said.
Additional reporting by Sam Jones
