The acting federal chancellor of Austria, the conservative Karl Nehammer, announced this Saturday that will resign in the coming days, both as head of the Government and as president of the Popular Party (ÖVP)after this formation had abandoned the negotiations with the Social Democrats to form a new Government.
“We are ending negotiations with the SPÖ (Social Democratic Party) and will not continue them,” Nehammer said in a message posted on social media, before announcing his intention to abandon the positions he has held since December 2021.
The attempt to form a Government in Austria has thus failed, leaving the ultra-nationalist FPÖ party in opposition, winner of the legislative elections on September 29 with 28.8% of the votes, followed by the ÖVP (26.3%) and the SPÖ (21.1%).
After those elections, the country’s president, the progressive Van der Bellen, ruled out granting the FPÖ the mandate to form a government – despite his victory – because he lacked partners for a parliamentary majority and entrusted the mandate to Nehammer, who began negotiations with the social democrats. Shortly after, in November, he also invited the small Neos (neoliberal) party to obtain a larger majority of parliamentary seats.
This Friday, the leader of Neos, Beate Meinl-Reisinger, announced that her party was abandoning the negotiations because It had not been possible to reach an agreement with ÖVP and SPÖ on key issues because they do not want to undertake profound reforms of the State despite the difficult economic situation.
Austria closed its second year of recession in 2024.
In a video published on his He finally abandoned it when he realized that an agreement would not be possible.
“So far we have tried everything. It is not possible to reach an agreement on key points, so it does not make sense for a positive future for Austria (…) The negotiations are ended and will not be resumed”said the outgoing chancellor.
“Evidently, the destructive forces, enemies of the economy and competitiveness, have triumphed in the SPÖ”accused the conservative politician, reiterating his categorical refusal to accept certain demands of the Social Democrats, such as the introduction of inheritance and property taxes.
For his part, the leader of the social democrats, Andreas Bablerconfirmed the breakdown of the negotiations, which he attributed to internal pressure from the Nehammer party of the wing favorable to allying with the ultranationalists, while at the same time he was convinced that “the pending issues” could have been resolved.
The failure of the attempt to form a stable Government without the radicals “is bad news for our country”Babler declared at a press conference in Vienna, recalling that the outgoing Executive, formed by the ÖVP and the Greens (environmentalists), has left “a budget hole of 18 billion euros.”
According to Babler, the conservatives would have demanded “cuts in pensions, in the (salaries of) teachers, police officers and health professionals” to reduce the deficit.
At the moment, The exact date on which Nehammer will leave his positions and by whom he will be replaced is unknown.
A period of political instability begins for Austria, Since more than three months after the legislative elections, the country still has no prospects of having a new Government and it is not ruled out that it will be necessary to call new elections.
The latest polls place the ÖVP and SPÖ with a voting intention of around 20-21% each, while the ultra FPÖ, which won the elections with 28.8%, has further increased its advantage, up to 35%. 37%.
(With information from EFE)
