Talks to form a government that would put the far right in power in Austria are struggling, Austrian media reported Tuesday, though the parties involved say negotiations have not collapsed.
The far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ), which won the most votes in a September election in Austria, has been in talks with the right-wing Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) about forming a government since January.
FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl has previously said he will walk away from coalition talks and seek to trigger new elections if the ÖVP isn’t willing to fully accept his party as the driving force in the government.
“The government negotiations are in a difficult phase,” the ÖVP said on Tuesday evening, according to local media, though added that it is “still in ongoing negotiations” and that “talks in the subgroups have been scheduled for today and tomorrow.”
“It’s fifty-fifty,” the ÖVP’s negotiator Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer told local media on Tuesday afternoon.
Responding to media reports that the talks had been put on hold, the FPÖ said on X: “There is no breakdown of negotiations. The ÖVP is apparently coordinating internally. This is quite normal in negotiations. We also coordinate internally again and again. Tomorrow it can continue.”
Previous attempts to form a government that would’ve excluded Kickl’s far-right party failed at the start of the year.
Meanwhile in Vienna, tens of thousands of protestors took to the streets to demonstrate against a possible FPÖ-ÖVP government. Tuesday marks the 25th anniversary of the first ÖVP-FPÖ coalition.
“Now is the chance to break off the negotiations,” protestors chanted, according to local media reports, alongside calls of “we are the firewall, where are you?”
In 2000, the ÖVP entered into a coalition with the far right, breaking a taboo that prompted Austria’s EU partners to impose bilateral “diplomatic sanctions” on Vienna.
This story has been updated. Nathalie Weatherald contributed to this report.
Austrian coalition talks falter
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