Following the victory of the far-right in the Austrian elections, the responsibility of forming the government fell on the conservatives. President Alexander Van der Bellen announced that he entrusted the task of forming a coalition government to the conservative People’s Party led by Chancellor Karl Nehammer instead of the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) that won the election. Van der Bellen stated in his speech that due to no one wanting to form a government with the Freedom Party led by Herbert Kickl, he requested Nehammer, who came second in the election, to negotiate a coalition with the third-placed Social Democrats.

Van der Bellen said, “The party winning the parliamentary election does not automatically take over the government. I have tasked Conservative People’s Party (OVP) leader Chancellor Karl Nehammer to initiate coalition talks with the Social Democrats (SPO) to form the government.” He also emphasized the need to clarify whether OVP and SPO will have a stable majority or will require a third party as a coalition partner in the future, stating, “A third party will be needed in a future coalition.”

NO ONE WANTED A COALITION WITH THE FAR RIGHT

After the announcement of the results, FPO party leader Herbert Kickl and leaders of other parties in parliament faced off in a television studio.

Leaders rejected Kickl’s coalition offer.

Kickl, the leader of the FPÖ founded by a former Nazi politician, says he wants to be a “Volkskanzler” (Chancellor of the People), a term used by the Nazis for Adolf Hitler.