Nehammer Accepts Mandate to Form New Government

Nehammer Accepts Mandate to Form New Government

Alexander Van der Bellen with Karl Nehammer in the Hofburg. Image: APA/Georg Hochmuth

 

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer has accepted the mandate to form the country’s next government, following a request from President Alexander Van der Bellen.

Speaking on Tuesday, Nehammer, leader of the People’s Party (ÖVP) and Chancellor since December 2021, stated that the country needed “a stable federal government supported by a broad majority in parliament.”

Earlier in the day, President Van der Bellen tasked Nehammer with exploring a coalition with the Social Democrats (SPÖ) and determining if a third partner was necessary, as the ÖVP and SPÖ together hold only a slim majority of one seat in parliament.

Van der Bellen’s decision followed the refusal of all other parties to cooperate with the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ), which made history by winning Austria’s parliamentary elections on 29 September. The ÖVP finished second, with the SPÖ in third.

The FPÖ condemned the president’s move, with party leader Herbert Kickl accusing Van der Bellen of abandoning established traditions. He claimed the president had “let the population know that he is breaking with the tried and tested and normal processes of our Second Republic.”

Traditionally, the president asks the winning party to form a government after an election.

Nehammer confirmed he would engage in detailed discussions with the SPÖ in the coming weeks, though it remains unclear which party he will approach as the potential third partner.

Austria’s current government sees the ÖVP as the senior partner, with the Green Party as its coalition partner.

Meanwhile, the liberal NEOS party issued a statement on Tuesday, signalling its openness to “serious exploratory talks” about forming Austria’s first-ever three-way coalition.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Van der Bellen emphasised the need for a “government capable of acting, stable and with integrity.”

Reflecting on the election campaign, the president acknowledged the significant policy differences between the parties, despite the fairness of the campaign. “There will be compromises at the end of the negotiations,” he said. “That is what our democracy is all about.”

“We are different, different things are important to us, which is why we vote for different parties,” Van der Bellen added. “Nobody can claim the whole nation for themselves, nobody.”

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