Speculation is growing that Austria will ask far-right leader Herbert Kickl to form a National government

Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen announced Sunday that he will meet far-right politician Herbert Kickl as he asks the Freedom Party leader to form a government.

Van der Bellen announced this after a meeting with Chancellor Karl Nehammer and others at the presidential palace.

Nehammer announced his intention to resign after coalition talks between conservatives Austrian The People’s Party and the center-left Social Democrats collapsed over the budget.

Nehammer has ruled out working with Kickl, but others in his party are less adamant.

On Sunday morning, the People’s Party nominated its secretary-general Christian Stocker as interim leader, but President Nehammer said he would remain chancellor for the time being.

In the past, Stocker has criticized Kickl, calling him a “security risk” to the country.

In its “Fortress Austria” election manifesto, the Freedom Party calls for a more “homogeneous” nation through “remigration of uninvited foreigners,” strict border controls and an end to asylum through emergency legislation.

The Freedom Party also calls for an end to sanctions against Russia, is highly critical of Western military aid to Ukraine and wants to abandon the European Sky Shield Initiative, a missile defense project launched by Germany. The Freedom Party also signed a friendship agreement with Putin’s United Russia Party in 2016, which has now expired.

Kickl criticized the “elites” in Brussels and called for some powers to be returned to Austria from the European Union.

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This weekend, Van der Bellen said he spoke for several hours with key officials, after which he got the impression that “voices within the People’s Party, which had ruled out working with the Freedom Party under its leader Herbert Kickl, had become quieter.”

The president said the development “potentially opens up a new avenue,” prompting him to invite Kickley to a meeting Monday morning.

Kickl’s Freedom Party topped the polls in the autumn national elections with 29.2%, but Van der Bellen tasked Nehammer with forming a new government because no other party was willing to work with Kickl.

The decision drew heavy criticism from the Freedom Party and its supporters, with Kickl saying in October that it was “not right or logical” not to receive a mandate to form a government.

“We are not responsible for the time lost, the chaotic situation and the huge breach of trust that has resulted,” Kickl said on social media Sunday afternoon. “On the contrary: It is clear that the Freedom Party has been and continues to be the only stable factor in Austrian politics.”

Stocker addressed reporters on Sunday afternoon, confirming his appointment as interim leader by his party. “I am very proud and happy,” he said.

He also welcomed the president’s decision to meet with Kickl and said he now expects the leader of the party that won the last election to be tasked with forming a government.

“If we are invited to negotiate to form a government, we will accept this invitation,” Stoker added.

Austria is in political turmoil after the liberal Neos party pulled out of coalition talks with the People’s Party and the Social Democrats on Friday.

Left with just a one-seat majority in parliament, the two parties made another attempt to form a government on Saturday, but it also failed hours later, with negotiators saying they could not agree on how to repair the government. budget deficit.

© 2025 The Canadian Press