In Austria, the coalition talks between the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) have collapsed. FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl informed Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen that the coalition talks with the ÖVP have failed, the FPÖ announced on Wednesday.
As a consequence, Kickl has returned the government formation mandate. It remains unclear how the search for a new government in the Alpine Republic will proceed. The failure had been hinted at in recent days, as the atmosphere between the two parties had continued to deteriorate. The latest public dispute was over the distribution of ministerial posts.
Kickl had received the government formation mandate from Van der Bellen at the beginning of January. Prior to that, coalition talks between the ÖVP and the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) and the NEOS had also failed. In the National Council election at the end of September, the FPÖ achieved 28 percent of the vote, making it the strongest party in parliament for the first time. The ÖVP received 26 percent, followed by the SPÖ with 21 percent.