The new federal government consisting of ÖVP, SPÖ, and NEOS is taking shape. The cabinet includes a total of 14 ministers and seven state secretaries. SPÖ and ÖVP each receive six ministries, while NEOS gets two. Three state secretaries come from the ÖVP, three from the SPÖ, and one position goes to the NEOS. The final personnel decisions will be made in the party committees on Friday (ÖVP, SPÖ) and on Sunday (NEOS).

Stocker Becomes Chancellor, Five Ministries for ÖVP

The ÖVP appoints Christian Stocker as the Federal Chancellor and takes over five additional ministries:

Additionally, the ÖVP receives three state secretariats: in the Chancellery (initially without a fixed area of responsibility), in the Ministry of Finance (under SPÖ leadership), and in its own Ministry of Economic Affairs.

SPÖ Provides Vice Chancellor and Six Ministries

SPÖ leader Andreas Babler will become Vice Chancellor, although his exact ministerial responsibilities are still unclear. The Social Democrats will take over the following ministries:

Additionally, the SPÖ provides three state secretaries, including a position for government coordination in the Ministry of Housing and Culture, as well as a state secretariat in the Ministry of the Interior for intelligence services.

Markus Marterbauer is set to become the new Minister of Finance. This was confirmed to the APA from SPÖ circles as definite. The 60-year-old economist is considered a representative of the left wing and has been active as Vice President of the Fiscal Council and in Wifo, and most recently in the Chamber of Labor. The new Minister of Infrastructure is likely to be Vienna's City Councillor for Finance, Peter Hanke.

NEOS with Foreign and Education Department

The NEOS will take over the Foreign Ministry with Beate Meinl-Reisinger, while the Vienna City Councillor for Education, Christoph Wiederkehr, will become the Minister of Education. Additionally, the party will receive a state secretariat in the Foreign Ministry, which will primarily focus on deregulation.

"Lex Gewessler": Coalition Commits to a Unified Line

The government program also stipulates that its contents are to be jointly represented - both in the federal government, in parliament "and as an Austrian position in the organs of the European Union." This can likely be interpreted as a lesson from the turquoise-green government, as the previous Minister for Climate Protection, Leonore Gewessler (Greens), voted in June 2024 against the will of the coalition partner ÖVP in the EU Council of States for the adoption of the renaturation law, thereby helping this proposal to a narrow majority. "Important decisions of the coalition partners are made together and represented together in public," it now states in the ÖVP-SPÖ-NEOS program. "The important positions represented in the Council of the European Union and the European Council will be coordinated in advance among the coalition partners in a timely manner."

Personnel Decisions to be Finalized Over the Weekend

Who will actually be part of the next government was not officially announced on Thursday. This is expected to happen after the party committees of ÖVP and SPÖ meet, each on Friday morning. The NEOS must pass the coalition participation in a member assembly on Sunday.

There seems to have been a need for discussion regarding personnel within the SPÖ until the last moment. For instance, differences in opinion between SPÖ leader Andreas Babler and Vienna's Mayor Michael Ludwig emerged, particularly concerning the appointment of the Finance Ministry. The Vienna City Councillor for Finance, Peter Hanke (SPÖ), who was temporarily considered for this position, is now more likely to become the head of the Infrastructure Ministry. He was asked and he would do it, a spokesperson said on Thursday in response to an APA inquiry - subject to the committees. ÖVP ministers remain partly, Foreign Department to Meinl-Reisinger

There were no such public debates within the ÖVP. It seems that the previous ministers Gerhard Karner (Interior), Klaudia Tanner (Defense), and Norbert Totschnig (Agriculture) will retain their positions. Clarity on the remaining appointments is expected after the meetings on Friday.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.