What is the delay in forming a government in Austria? | Explained Premium

Austria's political landscape shifts as ruling party nears coalition, far-right FPO faces opposition, and President sets red lines.

The story so far: The Austrian chancellor Karl Nehammer’s ruling People’s Party (OVP) has inched closer to heading Vienna’s next coalition government. The party was the runner-up in the September 29 elections and its vote slump, compared with the 2019 polls, was the biggest loss any ruling party has sustained. The OVP’s prospective coalition partner, the Social Democrats (SPO) put up their worst ever electoral showing since World War II. Conversely, the far-right, xenophobic, Eurosceptic, anti-Muslim and pro-Russian Freedom Party (FPO), emerged the largest entity, albeit without a majority.

All of Austria’s mainstream parties have refused to form a government with the FPO. The only ground the ultra-right party has gained since the polls is the election of one of its members as the parliament’s speaker. Among the reasons for parties’ antipathy towards the FPO are the latter’s backing for Russia in its full-scale aggression against Ukraine. The FPO has veered further to the extreme right under its current leader Herbert Kickl, who styles himself as the ‘people’s chancellor,’ in a not so oblique reference to Adolf Hitler, and regards Hungary’s autocratic President Viktor Orban as his role model. As interior minister in the short-lived 2017-2019 OVP-FPO coalition government, Mr. Kickl shut down mosques in a crackdown against the “Islamisation” of Austria. His infamous raids on the nation’s intelligence services severely compromised collaboration with international agencies. He continues to advocate for the re-migration of citizens of foreign origin as part of the mission to create a homogenous Austrian society.

Departing from convention, the Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen opted not to invite the FPO to form a government, even though it had emerged the largest party in the parliament’s lower house. President Van der Bellen has previously stressed that the practice hitherto followed by the head of the state was a tradition, not a requirement under the Austrian constitution. As such, on October 9, he gathered the three largest parties in the new legislature in an effort to facilitate consultations on the prospects for a new government. With no signs of a resolution, he tasked chancellor Nehammer with the responsibility.

The President has indicated definite red lines that ought not to be crossed under his watch by any government. Most notable of these is Vienna’s European Union (EU) membership, which the FPO has steadfastly opposed.

The FPO has participated in three federal governments since the 1980s. There was a minor ripple across Europe at the turn of the century, when the FPO’s Jorg Haider joined a ruling alliance with the OVP, as EU capitals threatened bilateral boycotts on the country. However, in a measure of the far-right’s greater acceptability in Austria and across the EU, the reaction to the party’s cohabitation in a coalition with the OVP between 2017-2019 was markedly muted. The FPO’s growing appeal has much to do with popular disenchantment with decades of centrist coalitions, a Europe-wide phenomenon, which in the aftermath of the Holocaust, was seen as a bulwark against political extremism. In reality however, the OVP and SPO coalitions have over the years been tainted with divvying up key positions in government and business between themselves.

The prospective coalition among the OVP, SPO and the liberal NEOS will undoubtedly have its share of ideological differences to contend with. The longer they take to strike a deal, the greater the potential within the FPO to pressure its leader Mr. Kickl to step aside to allow the party to join a coalition with the OVP.

The writer is Director, Strategic Initiatives, AgnoShin Technologies.