Van der Bellen Announced This After Failed Coalition Negotiations
Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen wants to explore further possibilities to form a government after the failed coalition negotiations between FPÖ and ÖVP. For this reason, he will hold talks with "politicians" - presumably the party leaders - in the coming days to discuss what a future government should look like, he said in a statement at the Hofburg on Wednesday evening. He did not show any preferences.
Van der Bellen Named Options
Van der Bellen named four options that are now possible after the failure of the second round of coalition talks: a new election of the National Council, a minority government tolerated by parliament, an expert government for a certain period, or possibly a coalition of several parties. "How this government is composed is fundamentally of no importance to me," the Federal President emphasized.
In his statement, which lasted barely ten minutes in the presidential office and after which no journalist questions were allowed, Van der Bellen made a plea for finding compromises. These have fallen into disrepute, and the political landscape is increasingly polarizing not only in Austria.
The Federal President regretted this, as liberal democracy thrives on it: "Compromise in Austria is a treasure, a cultural asset that we have always benefited from." It is about a constructive path into the common future and the state as a whole. "A negotiation process is not a competition where there are only winners and losers," he advised the party representatives.
End of Coalition Negotiations
Previously, FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl had returned the mandate to form a government, which he had received from Van der Bellen. This also caused the collapse of the blue-black coalition negotiations. This was preceded by a final personal meeting with VP leader Christian Stocker. Kickl blamed the ÖVP for the failure, as they had made many concessions. The People's Party saw a "power frenzy" of the FPÖ leader.
Live Blog After Negotiation Collapse
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.