Finally: Government Chaos Ended After 155 Days

It has never taken this long after a National Council election for a new government to take office. From the election on September 29 to the swearing-in date, 155 days have passed. The duration of the government formation was thus more than twice as long as the average of the past 23 National Council elections. The previous record duration between election day and inauguration from the year 1962 was also exceeded by almost four weeks.

Government Formation Has Never Taken This Long

On average, the formation of the government from election day to swearing-in after the National Council elections since 1945 has taken 62.4 days. Excluding the five single-party governments, the average duration of government formation was 70.2 days. This time span was already exceeded on December 9.

With more than five months, during which coalition negotiations broke down twice, the genesis of the three-party coalition will likely go down in history as the most complicated government formation in the Second Republic. The previous record duration of 129 days was surpassed on February 5. The formation of the last grand coalition before the phase of single-party governments after the National Council election on November 18, 1962, took this long.

Third place for the longest government formations is now held by the first black-blue coalition, which was formed after the National Council election in 1999. Twenty-five years ago, it took a total of 124 days for the government under Wolfgang Schüssel (ÖVP) to take office after the failure of months-long negotiations between SPÖ and ÖVP. Five years ago, it took 100 days after the election for the turquoise-green government to be sworn in.

(APA/Red)

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