Vienna, Jan 6 (IANS) Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen said that he would meet the Freedom Party’ leader Herbert Kickl on Monday to discuss the formation of a new government while the conservative People’s Party softened its stance, saying it is now open to talks with the far-right party.
The move came after the collapse of three-party coalition talks among the People’s Party, the Social Democratic Party and the NEOS party and later the failure of two-party negotiations following the NEOS’ withdrawal, Xinhua news agency reported.
On Saturday, Karl Nehammer announced his resignation as chancellor of the Austrian caretaker government and chairman of the People’s Party after the coalition talks fell apart. Van der Bellen has said that he would appoint an interim chancellor in the coming week.
Nehammer had repeatedly ruled out the possibility of a coalition with the Freedom Party under Kickl’s leadership after the far-right party came first in Austria’s parliamentary election in September.
Van der Bellen said on Sunday he was informed by Nehammer that “the voices within the People’s Party that rule out cooperation with Kickl have become quieter,” which opens up the path for a coalition between the People’s Party and the Freedom Party.
However, the Austrian president did not confirm that he would give the Freedom Party a mandate to form a new government, according to Austrian news agency APA.
The People’s Party on Sunday appointed its secretary-general Christian Stocker to succeed Nehammer as its interim leader.
Stocker, a sharp critic of Kickl for months, told a press conference later that day that his party would be willing to accept an offer of coalition negotiations from the Freedom Party.
Stocker defended the U-turn citing the changed situation after the failure of coalition talks with the Social Democratic Party, stressing that it is “about the country getting a stable government and not wasting time with election campaigns,” APA reported.
The failed three-party coalition talks had dragged on since mid-November following Van der Bellen’s decision in October to task the People’s Party with forming a government.
In September’s parliamentary election, the Freedom Party came first with around 29 per cent of the vote, followed by the People’s Party and the Social Democratic Party with 26.3 per cent and 21.1 per cent respectively. Although the Freedom Party won the parliamentary presidency, it had been unable to find coalition partners to form a government.
–IANS
int/rs
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
