In a stern rebuke, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has criticized the government formation in neighboring Austria during the SPD’s federal party convention in Berlin.
According to Scholz, the ÖVP wants to elect an “extreme right” politician, FPÖ chief Herbert Kickl, as Chancellor, saying, “One can’t put it any other way, he is an extreme rightist.” The German Chancellor added, “An extreme right as Chancellor in Austria, despite all democratic parties having sworn on stone and bone for months that they won’t form a coalition with the extreme right.” Scholz deemed a clearly right-wing Chancellor in the neighboring country “distressing” saying, “We can’t just take that as a given.”
If Kickl were to indeed become Chancellor and Scholz remains in office after the federal election, a cooperation between the two countries may become challenging in the light of the SPD leader’s statements.