Coalition Negotiations: Party Leaders Informed Van der Bellen

Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) was the first to have a meeting in the presidential office in the morning, in the afternoon SPÖ chairman Andreas Babler and NEOS leader Beate Meinl-Reisinger met. Timelines were also discussed, Van der Bellen expects a new government in January.

Need for Consolidation Remains Sticking Point in Coalition Negotiations

They had exchanged views on the status of the coalition talks and possible timelines, Babler reported after his appointment at the Hofburg. The sticking point continues to be the need for consolidation in the budget, about the extent of which there are still no uniform figures. Therefore, it would be irresponsible to name a specific date for the end of the coalition negotiations, said the SPÖ chief. They are currently working "under high pressure" to create a sustainable budget consolidation.

Coalition Negotiations: Meinl-Reisinger Does Not Want to Be "Rushed"

The NEOS leader also did not want to commit to a timetable. "I won't let anyone rush me when it comes to the deadline," she said before her appointment with the Federal President. "It is important to take the time in this difficult situation to seriously discuss things and come to solutions together," said Meinl-Reisinger.

The Federal President assumes that the government negotiations will continue into the new year. "I expect it to be sometime in January," which is normal when you look at the duration of the last coalition negotiations, Van der Bellen told ORF during a walk with his dog Juli between the first two appointments in the morning.

The discussions are part of the agreed regular exchange on the progress of the government negotiations, according to the Presidential Office. Two weeks ago, the three leaders of the coalition negotiators last met for talks with Van der Bellen at the Hofburg.

Decisive Phase in Coalition Negotiations

The turquoise-red-pink coalition negotiations are in the decisive phase three weeks after the starting signal. By the end of the week, the subgroups should be finished and deliver an interim balance to the control group. From next week, the negotiations will continue at the level of the control group and the chief negotiators, according to the SPÖ. A meeting of the top negotiators is also planned for this week to clarify contentious points. There is no specific date for this yet, the meeting will probably not take place on Monday, it was said from several sides to the APA.

The atmosphere at the talks is very good, assured a red negotiator. Everyone is clearly trying to work constructively in terms of content. The schedule is still vague. The fact that an agreement will be reached before Christmas was virtually ruled out by a representative of the NEOS on Monday. Turquoise-Green started negotiations at the same time in 2019 and it was January before they were concluded, he pointed out. It is not to be expected that it will be faster with three parties.

Coalition Negotiations: Budget Execution Shows Increase in Expenditure

How great the pressure to consolidate the state budget is was once again shown on Monday by current figures from the Budget Service of the Parliament on budget execution. According to this, the net financing balance of the federal government was 17.1 billion euros at the end of October. It was thus 8.2 billion euros worse than in the previous year. The payouts increased by 10.4 billion euros compared to the previous year. There were particularly more payments in the areas of pensions, mobility, climate and environment, and in connection with the new financial equalisation. The payments were 2.2 billion euros higher than in the previous year, with the main increases in levies.

(APA/Red)

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