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The smallest of three parties in talks to form Austria’s next government has unexpectedly quit the negotiations, throwing into disarray an effort to form a centrist ruling coalition without the far-right Freedom party (FPÖ).
The surprise move by the liberal Neos party raised serious doubts about the future of the coalition talks and buoyed the Eurosceptic, Russia-friendly FPÖ. The FPÖ has railed against those negotiations since it was shut out despite winning the last parliamentary election in September with 29% of the vote.
Although the FPÖ would have needed a coalition partner to govern and none was forthcoming, opinion polls show its support has only grown since it was sidelined and so the pressure to find a solution has increased for the two parties left in the talks – conservative chancellor Karl Nehammer’s People’s party (ÖVP) and the Social Democrats (SPÖ).
“We Neos will not continue negotiations on a possible three-party coalition,” their leader, Beate Meinl-Reisinger, told a press conference, accusing the other parties of lacking the courage to take bold decisions, including in their last meeting that ran into Thursday night.
The Neos back tax cuts and structural reforms, including unpopular ideas such as raising the retirement age. Having never been in national government, they present themselves as modernisers in contrast to the SPÖ and ÖVP, traditional parties of power.
Friday’s move underscored the growing difficulty of forming stable governments in European countries, such as Germany and France, where the far right has been on the rise but many parties are loath to partner with them.
There are no easy paths left in Austria.
“Those involved have the choice between Scylla and Charybdis,” political analyst Thomas Hofer said. “They now have to choose between very, very bad options.”
Together the SPÖ and ÖVP have a majority of just one seat in parliament, widely considered to be impractically thin.
Whether the two could reach an agreement is unclear given their differences on issues including taxation. The ÖVP has pledged not to raise taxes while the SPÖ’s flagship policy is to tax wealth and inheritance, which the ÖVP rejects.
For hours the ÖVP’s only reaction was a statement by secretary-general Christian Stocker blaming “backward-looking forces in the SPÖ” that he said had recently “gained the upper hand” in the talks and prompted the Neos to quit. Senior SPÖ officials said the announcement by the Neos surprised them.
By the evening, an ÖVP spokesperson said it and the SPÖ had agreed to continue the talks later on Friday. President Alexander Van der Bellen confirmed the talks would continue.
“That must happen without delay. I want clarity. Quick and comprehensive clarity,” he said in a televised address.
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Together the FPÖ and ÖVP would have a majority, and a portion of the ÖVP backs that idea, but Nehammer has ruled out governing with FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl, who in turn insists he would lead any government involving his party.
The only other party that could join the coalition talks is the Greens, Nehammer’s current coalition partner, but that relationship is fraught.
A snap election is possible but would not be in the interests of the ÖVP or SPÖ as polls suggest they would fare worse than before, with the FPÖ now leading both by more than 10 percentage points.
The FPÖ wasted no time in attacking Nehammer and likening his talks to the so-called “traffic-light coalition” in neighbouring Germany that recently collapsed.
“The FPÖ has been warning for months about this political monstrosity of the loser-traffic-light coalition,” the party said on X. “People have had enough! It’s time for you to resign, Mr Nehammer.”
