Coming from the Green party of Austria, the country’s president Alexander van der Bellen on Tuesday officially gave the mandate to form a government to the until now chancellor and leader of the center-right People’s Party (ÖVP), Karl Nechhammer, although the party had taken over with rate of 26% the second place in the national elections on 29 September.

He thus bypassed the fact that the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) was in first place that night with a percentage of 29%. In justifying his decision, van der Bellen explained that based on the talks he had with the leaders of all parties, he found that FPÖ president Herbert Kickl was unable to find any other political force willing to cooperate with him in order to be elected. chancellor.

Towards a three-party government?

The heads of both the center-right ÖVP and the Social Democratic SPÖ (21%) have publicly refused to cooperate with Kikl, while similar statements have been made by the Greens (8%) and the liberal NEOS (9%). According to the president of the Republic, ÖVP and SPÖ have committed to immediately start negotiations for the formation of a coalition government, in which NEOS could also participate, ensuring a more comfortable parliamentary majority for the next government. The two once “big” parties currently have a majority of only one seat.

Representatives of NEOS even thanked the president for his decision and declared their willingness to contribute to the formation of a stable government of the democratic forces. Carl Nehammer also expressed his preference for a three-party government with a wider majority. In theory, the Greens, who until now co-governed with the People’s Party, could also take part in the new government.

Cycle’s reaction

The decision of the Austrian president is characterized as quite bold, as is the fact that the 80-year-old politician justified it not only on the basis of the number of seats in the Parliament but by adding that “Austria needs a functional, stable and intact government”. However, before the election, the president of the Republic had hinted that he would use the possibilities given to him by the Constitution, in order not to allow Herbert Kickle to become chancellor.

Herbert Kickle had already warned that he considered this development undemocratic and systematically accused the president of the Republic of seeking to impose an “alliance of losers” on the country. It is certain that he will now raise the tone even more in pursuit of a climate of intense polarization, in a country where the far-right forces have traditionally had a strong parliamentary presence for decades. There were immediate angry reactions from party officials, especially in areas where the FPÖ had scored impressively high percentages. They characterized the decision as “irresponsible” and spoke of a “black day for Democracy”.

Kickle himself initially reacted only with a post on Facebook, where he accused the president of “breaking” the tradition of democratic post-election proceedings, but the case is not yet over. “This may seem like a slap in the face to many of you. But I promise you: The last word has not been said yet,” he wrote characteristically.

Relief for NGOs and artists

On the contrary, it was with relief that the representatives of the democratic parties, as well as organizations and citizen movements from various places, listened to the televised message of the president. Even the people of culture had expressed in the last days their concern about the possibility of a government, where the forces of the nationalist and populist right would play the first violin.

Van der Bellen, who narrowly won his first term against an FPÖ candidate, reminded Kickl that if he wanted to govern alone he would have to command more than 50%, something the electorate apparently did not choose. . “No one can claim the majority of the people on their behalf,” he said characteristically. “We are all people.”

Austria thus appears to be “escaping” for the time being the possibility of being ruled by the extreme right, but it is unknown what the medium-term consequences of this development will be. It will certainly play a role in how quickly the new government can be formed and whether it can regain the trust of a large part of the electorate, which says it is disillusioned with the political system as a whole and justifies voting for the FPÖ as a form of “reaction” .

Sources: ORF, DPA, AFP