The President of Austria instructed Chancellor Neghammer to form the government — despite the victory of the far-right in the elections

Despite the victory of the pro-Russian far-right Austrian Freedom Party in the Austrian elections, President Alexander van der Bellen instructed the leader of the Austrian Peopleʼs Party (ÖVP), Chancellor Karl Nehammer, to form a government.

This was reported by Alexander van der Bellen.

He noted that far-right leader Herbert Kickl could not find a coalition partner who would make him chancellor. Kickl insisted that the government, which will include his party, can be formed only if he himself becomes chancellor. And the leaders of other parties did not want it.

"Therefore, I entrust Karl Nehammer, the leader of the second largest parliamentary party, to form the government. I informed him personally this morning," the Austrian president said.

He added that he had asked Nehammer to immediately start negotiations with the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), which came third in the election.

According to van der Bellen, the SPÖ and ÖVP, in the context of a possible coalition with the far-right, have expressed their concerns about liberal democracy, the rule of law, security from foreign services, the partyʼs closeness to Russia, and the divisive and derogatory language used by the political force.

Why is this important?

The Austrian Freedom Party has cooperated with various Russian entities since at least 2008. In December 2016, the partyʼs leadership signed an official agreement on "Cooperation and Cooperation" with the Kremlin ruling party "United Russia".

Kickl and his like-minded people accuse NATO of starting Russiaʼs war against Ukraine, believing that the USA is the main beneficiary. They oppose Ukraineʼs support and Austriaʼs participation in sanctions against Russia, arguing that this violates the countryʼs principle of neutrality.

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