Austria’s president introduced he would meet the FPÖ chief a day after Chancellor Karl Nehammer mentioned he would resign after talks on forming a brand new authorities collapsed for a second time.
Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen mentioned at a press convention on Sunday afternoon that he had agreed to fulfill Freedom Party (FPÖ) chief Herbert Kickl on Monday after a number of failed makes an attempt to type a governing coalition with out the Freedom Party .
“Within the UDC, the voices ruling out a collaboration with an FPÖ below Herbert Kickl have light significantly. This signifies that a brand new path might open up that didn’t exist earlier than,” the president mentioned.
Coalition talks have dragged on for months. The liberal Neos, along with Nehammer’s conservative Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) and the center-left Social Democrats (SPÖ), sought to create a three-party governing coalition after the far-right Freedom Party received September’s nationwide elections with 29.2% of the votes. the vote.
However, the events struggled to achieve an settlement. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer introduced on Saturday that he would resign within the coming days after talks on forming a brand new authorities collapsed for the second time.
Nehammer’s announcement got here after the People’s Party and the Social Democrats continued coalition talks, a day after the liberal Neos social gathering surprisingly withdrew from the discussions.
Van der Bellen mentioned Chancellor Karl Nehammer will stay in his place as chancellor till he appoints a brand new interim, which he mentioned he’ll do within the subsequent week.
This morning Austria’s ruling conservative social gathering, the Austrian People’s Party, named its common secretary Christian Stocker as Nehammer’s successor.
Stocker mentioned he was prepared to simply accept the Freedom Party’s invitation to type a brand new authorities.
“I’m happy that the president invitations Herbert Kickl, the chief of the strongest social gathering, and entrusts him with the formation of a authorities. We are prepared for talks with the FPÖ,” Stocker mentioned.
Stocker, a lawyer and member of the Austrian parliament, has been common secretary of the UDC since 2022. He is taken into account an skilled and calm disaster communicator, typically showing in Austrian media to defend controversial choices.
