ÖVP receives government mandate from Van der Bellen

The Austrian Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen has given the current Chancellor Karl Nehammer of the conservative ÖVP the government mandate. Van der Bellen explains: "I informed him of this personally this morning and also asked him to immediately begin negotiations with the Social Democratic Party of Austria." Despite the victory of the right-wing populist FPÖ, the party is still out of the running for participation in the government for the time being.

In the exploratory talks of the past few days it became clear that no other party wants to form a coalition with the FPÖ. "Herbert Kickl cannot find a coalition partner who will make him Chancellor." Van der Bellen acknowledges that the decision is unusual, but argues that a new situation requires new solutions. In a statement, Nehammer accepted the mandate to form a government and announced that a third party will be part of the coalition to secure a broader parliamentary majority.  He left open whether these would be the liberal NEOS or the Greens, as expected.

On Facebook, Herbert Kickl, the head of the FPÖ, wrote that the decision would be "like a slap in the face" for FPÖ voters. "But I promise you: the last word has not yet been spoken," he said, referring to the negotiations between the ÖVP and the SPÖ, whose success is not yet guaranteed.

In the National Council election, the FPÖ came first with 29%, followed by the ÖVP with 26%. The SPÖ came in third with a historic low (21%). The NEOS achieved 9 percent, followed by the Greens (8 percent).

The NEOS, Greens and the SPÖ reject a coalition with the FPÖ. The ÖVP does not rule out a coalition with the right in principle, but they do not want to work under Kickl's leadership. Van der Bellen had asked the three major parties to hold talks to explore coalitions.  After the talks, the SPÖ and ÖVP were not prepared to form a coalition with the FPÖ. According to Van der Bellen, the parties cited concerns about democracy and the rule of law as reasons for their decision.

Traditionally, the party with the most votes is given the mandate to form a government, but this is not laid down in the constitution. The Federal President is completely free to appoint the Federal Chancellor and to give him the mandate to form a government.