Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen on Monday entrusted the formation of a new government to Herbert Kickl, leader of the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ).
Van der Bellen’s offer came after Chancellor Carl Nehammer submitted his resignation on Saturday.
What we know about the decision
Kickl’s party won the Austrian parliamentary election in September, taking 28.8% of the vote and defeating outgoing Chancellor Karl Nehammer’s conservative Austrian People’s Party (OVP) into second place.
However, Van der Bellen tasked Nehmer with forming a new government as no other party was willing to work with Kickl.
“I did not take this step lightly,” said Van der Bellen, who appointed Kikal to conduct coalition talks with the conservative ÖVP.
Previous coalition talks between the ÖVP and the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) failed, as did three-way talks that also included the liberal Neos party.
“Respect for the voters’ vote requires that the Federal President respect the majority,” Van der Bellen said, “even if they have other wishes and views.”
Kickl had assured him that he was confident of finding a viable solution in the context of government negotiations – “and he wants that responsibility,” Van der Bellen said.
rc/kb (AFP, dpa)
