Austrian far-right leader's efforts to form a new government collapse

VIENNA (AP) — Austrian far-right leader Herbert Kickl's efforts to form a coalition government with a conservative party collapsed in mutual recriminations on Wednesday, more than four months after his party won a national election.

Austria’s president last month gave Kickl a mandate to try to form a new government — the first to have been headed by the far right since World War II — after other parties' efforts to put together a governing alliance without his Freedom Party failed.

But Kickl on Wednesday informed President Alexander Van der Bellen that he was giving up the mandate. Weeks of tense talks with the conservative Austrian People’s Party appeared increasingly troubled in recent days.

Kickl’s anti-immigration party, which also opposes sanctions against Russia, won Austria’s parliamentary election in September. It took 28.8% of the vote and beat then-Chancellor Karl Nehammer’s People’s Party into second place.

But in October, Van der Bellen gave Nehammer the first chance to form a new government after Nehammer’s party said it wouldn’t go into government with the Freedom Party under Kickl and others refused to work with the Freedom Party at all. Those negotiations collapsed in January and Nehammer resigned, making way for interim Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg.

The blame game starts

Kickl blamed the People's Party for the latest collapse of talks. In a letter to the president released by his party, he said the parties failed to agree on clearing up disputed policy points or how to share the work of various ministries.

“I do not take this step without regret,” he said. He added that there appeared to be no point in trying to negotiate with the center-left Social Democrats, the only other party with which the Freedom Party could reach a parliamentary majority.

“Austria has no time to waste,” Kickl said. His Freedom Party is highly skeptical of the European Union, opposing EU support for Ukraine and advocating for some powers to be brought back from the bloc to Austria.

In a statement on Wednesday, Austrian People’s Party leader Christian Stocker repeated his party’s priorities — including protecting Austria’s sovereignty and preventing undue foreign influence, particularly from Russia, preserving Austria’s role as a reliable partner in the EU and safeguarding liberal democracy.

He said there have been numerous warnings from foreign partners in recent months that cooperation with Austria’s intelligence agency would be compromised if the Freedom Party gained control over the interior ministry.

“It is out of the question that we will compromise the security of the country,” Stocker said, adding that negotiations had collapsed because of Kickl’s “attitude.”

Fight over the interior ministry

In February 2018, foreign intelligence services ceased sharing information with Austria following an illegal police raid on the country’s domestic intelligence agency. Concerns arose that sensitive information could fall into the wrong hands.

A parliamentary inquiry found that senior officials at the interior ministry, at the time headed by Kickl, played an active role in pushing prosecutors to sign off on the raid.

Both the Freedom Party and People’s Party have insisted on securing control of the interior ministry.

Kickl made a lengthy statement late Wednesday summarizing the past weeks of discussions with the People’s Party. He emphasized that he fought for the key issues of his party’s election platform to be implemented in the new government. The Freedom Party campaigned on toughening asylum and migration laws.

“If this had been about me becoming chancellor, I could have seized the opportunity,” he said. However, he added that this would have meant “betraying the voters and breaking central election promises."

He said he insisted on controlling the ministry of interior because his party believes it reflects their "key competences of security, asylum, and migration."

What will happen next?

Austria’s president on Wednesday evening said Kickl had informed him of the collapse of coalition talks, noting “there is less willingness to compromise.”

Van der Bellen outlined four possible paths forward. The first is to call for fresh elections, but due to legal requirements and deadlines, that is unlikely to happen before June. The second is forming a minority government. The third is establishing a caretaker government with broad parliamentary support. Finally, the remaining parties could reattempt coalition talks to form a government.

Van der Bellen said he will engage with all relevant politicians to determine which option might be “successful.”

Peter Filzmaier, one of Austria’s leading political scientists, said the negotiations had been turned into a “bizarre drama on the public stage.”

A confidential protocol summarizing the state of ongoing talks was leaked over the weekend and circulated widely. It indicated significant differences between the parties, particularly on foreign and security policy and regarding the EU.

For Austria, the political situation is unprecedented, as government formation talks have never taken this long. Additionally, the country faces a declining economy, rising unemployment, and a continuing recession, making the establishment of a stable government crucial.

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Geir Moulson contributed to this report from Berlin.

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A previous version of this story corrected the second paragraph to say “without,” not “with” the Freedom Party.