Coalition Negotiations Between ÖVP and SPÖ on Saturday
There were no official statements before the start and during the talks. However, through the media, both sides conveyed to each other that the other was pushing the negotiations to the brink of collapse.
The two parties are likely to continue to quarrel over the contentious issue of taxes and finances, where the Social Democrats are known to be in favour of inheritance and wealth taxes, and the People's Party is strictly against it. According to the "Kurier", ÖVP leader and Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer signalled to the SPÖ that "he no longer had any room for manoeuvre in the substantive negotiations. If he were to move, the party would move away from him." "Heute" quotes an unnamed ÖVP negotiator who, in turn, blames the SPÖ's insistence on new taxes for a possible failure: "For the People's Party an absolute no-go. If Babler sticks to it, we are at the end of the talks."
Meeting of ÖVP and SPÖ
A government alliance of the two parties would only be very weakly secured anyway, as they only have a one-seat majority in the National Council after the election on 29 September. The SPÖ had said in the morning that it was a meeting in a larger round. In addition to party leader Andreas Babler, Federal Managing Director Sandra Breiteneder, trade unionist Josef Muchitsch and club leader Philip Kucher were also present. The ÖVP only confirmed the date itself to the APA, no further information was initially available. It was also unclear how long the meeting could last and whether there would be media statements afterwards.
The bursting of the desired three-party coalition by the NEOS on Friday not only surprised the other two parties, but also Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen. After a longer mutual observation, the People's Party and the Social Democrats finally announced that they wanted to continue negotiations anyway. Van der Bellen stated that the mandate for ÖVP leader Karl Nehammer to form a government still applies. He made it "very clear" to both party leaders that the further formation of the government must happen "without delay". However, Van der Bellen did not set a specific deadline, according to reports.
FPÖ Calls for Nehammer's Resignation
The FPÖ, clear winner of the National Council election on September 29, 2024, demanded the immediate resignation of Nehammer on Friday. Only Herbert Kickl as Chancellor could "put an end to this chaos", according to Secretary General Michael Schnedlitz. Among the Greens, a potential further government partner of ÖVP and SPÖ, Health Minister Johannes Rauch emphasized that they would not be available as a stopgap or filler.
Salzburg's Governor Wilfried Haslauer (ÖVP), currently chairman of the Conference of Governors, insisted on a swift approach in an Ö1 interview on Saturday. "Overall, the path was already towards a solution," he said about the situation before the NEOS jumped off. In terms of budget consolidation, he was willing to compromise: "The fact is, something also has to happen on the revenue side."
Salzburg Has ÖVP-FPÖ Coalition
Haslauer is in coalition with the FPÖ in Salzburg. Regarding an opening to this also at the federal level, he said: "Let's take it step by step. If the talks fail, the situation will have to be re-analyzed." In his view, new elections would be the worst option, not least because a lot of time would be lost: "We need a capable government with a majority in parliament, even if it's only by one vote."
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.