Austrian president orders runner-up conservatives to form cabinet

Austria's President Alexander Van der Bellen has instructed the ruling conservative party to commence coalition negotiations with the Social Democrats, effectively sidelining the far-right Freedom Party, which recently struggled to secure a potential partner.

Speaking at a press conference in Vienna on October 22, Van der Bellen stated that mandating the current Chancellor, Karl Nehammer, to lead the discussions presents the best opportunity for establishing a parliamentary majority following last month's elections, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

Although the Freedom Party emerged as the largest party in the September elections, capturing 29% of the vote, it remains short of the necessary support to form a majority within Austria's consensus-driven political framework.

“The immediate objective is to identify an alternative route to establish a stable federal government that is both functional and possesses integrity as swiftly as possible,” Van der Bellen remarked.

This directive follows weeks of discussions among the leaders of Austria's three largest political parties and the President himself. Despite securing the most votes, the Freedom Party faces significant resistance, with all other parties committing not to support its leader, Herbert Kickl, for the Chancellorship.

Nehammer expressed concerns over Kickl's radicalisation and the party's troubling associations with far-right extremists, stating on X, “Kickl has radicalised himself and his party. It’s shown through his problematic proximity to the right-wing extremists.”

Van der Bellen emphasised that the two parties must seek common ground following an election campaign that highlighted stark differences in their policy priorities. They must also consider whether a coalition reliant on a narrow parliamentary majority is sufficiently stable, or if a third partner should be included in the government formation talks.

By Aghakazim Guliyev