After five months of negotiations, Austria has agreed on a government coalition without the pro-Russian Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ), which came first in the parliamentary elections in September.
This is reported by the APA agency.
The government coalition included the Austrian liberal NEOS party, the conservative Austrian Peopleʼs Party (ÖVP) and the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ).
The agreed government program contains more than 200 pages and is called "Doing the right thing now. For Austria." In particular, it provides for budget consolidation in accordance with EU fiscal rules to avoid the excessive deficit procedure. It also plans tough measures in the area of asylum. This coalition agreement still needs to be approved by the leadership of all three parties.
What preceded
At the end of September 2024, elections to the National Council (the lower house of parliament) were held in Austria. The far-right and pro-Russian Freedom Party of Austria won the most votes — 28.8%, ahead of the ruling Austrian Peopleʼs Party, which received 26.3%. The Social Democratic Party of Austria received 21.1%, the liberal NEOS party — 9.1%, and the Greens — 8.2%.
In October, Austrian President Alexander van der Bellen tasked Chancellor the leader of the Austrian Peopleʼs Party Karl Niehammer with forming a government, despite the victory of the far-right.
Initial talks to form a coalition government failed. NEOS withdrew from the talks, accusing the other two parties of unwillingness to carry out "fundamental reforms."
Whatʼs wrong with the Austrian Freedom Party?
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.
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