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President of Austria Alexander Van der Bellen announced on Sunday that he would meet far-right politician Herbert Kickl as speculation grew that he would ask the Freedom Party leader to form a government.
Van der Bellen made the announcement after meeting with Chancellor Karl Nehammer and others at his presidential palace. Nechhammer announced his intention to step down after coalition talks between his conservative Austrian People’s Party and the centre-left Social Democrats broke down budget.
Nehammer has ruled out cooperation with Kikl, but other members of his party are less adamant. Earlier on Sunday, the People’s Party nominated its secretary-general, Christian Stocker, as interim leader, but the president said Nehammer would remain chancellor for the time being.
Van der Bellen said he spent several hours talking to key officials, after which he got the impression that “the voices within the People’s Party that rule out cooperation with the Freedom Party under its leader Herbert Kickl have died down.”
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The president said the development “potentially opened up a new path,” prompting him to invite Kikle to a meeting Monday morning.
Kikl’s Freedom Party won the autumn national election with 29.2% of the vote, but Van der Bellen tasked Nehamer with forming a new government because no other party was willing to work with Kikl.
The decision drew fierce criticism from the Freedom Party and its supporters, and in October Kickle said it was “not right and illogical” that he had not received a mandate to form a government.
“We are not responsible for the time lost, the chaotic situation and the massive breach of trust,” Kickle said on social media Sunday afternoon. “On the contrary: it is clear that the Freedom Party was and remains the only stable factor in Austrian politics.”
An exterior view of the Austrian People’s Party headquarters in Vienna, Austria, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Heinz-Peter Bader)
Stoker spoke to reporters on Sunday afternoon and confirmed that his party had “unanimously” appointed him as interim leader. “It is a great honor and joy for me,” he said.
He also welcomed the president’s decision to meet Kikl and said he now expects the leader of the party that emerged as the clear winner in the last election to be tasked with forming a government.
“If we are invited to the negotiations on the formation of the government, we will accept this invitation,” Stoker added.
Stoker has criticized Kikl in the past, calling him a “security risk” to the country.
In its election manifesto, called “Fortress Austria,” the Freedom Party calls for “remigration of uninvited foreigners,” for a more “homogeneous” nation through tighter border controls and the suspension of asylum through emergency law.
The Freedom Party also calls for an end to sanctions against Russia, strongly criticizes Western military aid to Ukraine, and wants to abandon the European initiative “Sky Shield”, an anti-missile defense project launched by Germany. The Freedom Party also signed a membership agreement with Putin’s United Russia party in 2016, which it now claims has expired.
Kickle criticized the “elites” in Brussels and called for some powers to be taken back from European Union to Austria.
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Austria was engulfed in political upheaval on Friday after the liberal Neos party pulled out of coalition talks with the People’s Party and the Social Democrats. On Saturday, the two remaining parties, which hold just one seat in parliament, made another attempt to form a government, but that too failed after several hours, with negotiators saying they could not agree on how to restore government. budget deficit.
