Austriaʼs coalition government talks have collapsed — one of the three centrist parties has pulled out of the talks, undermining the alliance that was being formed without the winner of the parliamentary elections — the pro-Russian far-right Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ).
This is reported by Politico.
The smallest of the three parties set to form Austriaʼs new government, the liberal NEOS, has pulled out of talks. Its leader, Beate Meinl-Reisinger, said the problem was budget and competitiveness. She said the center-right Austrian Peopleʼs Party (ÖVP) and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) were unwilling to carry out "fundamental reforms."
The failure of the negotiations, which have been ongoing since November 2024, strengthens the positions of the far-right, pro-Russian and anti-migrant FPÖ, although all major parties refuse to work with it.
However, the ÖVP and SPÖ can still continue negotiations and form a two-way coalition, as they hold 92 of the 183 seats in the lower house of the Austrian parliament.
Why is this important?
The Austrian Freedom Party has been cooperating with various Russian entities since at least 2008. In December 2016, the party leadership signed a formal agreement on “Cooperation and Collaboration” with the Kremlin-backed ruling party, United Russia.
Far-right leader Herbert Kickl and his associates accuse NATO of unleashing Russiaʼs war on Ukraine, believing that the main beneficiary is the United States. They oppose Austriaʼs support for Ukraine and participation in sanctions against Russia, arguing that this violates the countryʼs principle of neutrality.
- In October 2022, Austrian President Alexander van der Bellen tasked Chancellor Karl Niehammer, leader of the Austrian Peopleʼs Party (ÖVP), with forming a government, despite the victory of the far-right.
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