The Austrian chancellor announced that he will resign after negotiations on the formation of a new government failed

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer announced on Saturday that he will resign in the coming days after talks on forming a new government failed for the second time.

The announcement came a day after the surprise withdrawal of the liberal Neos party from the debate, and the People’s Party and the Social Democrats resumed coalition talks.

“Unfortunately, I have to tell you today that the negotiations are over and will not be continued by the People’s Party,” Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer of the conservative People’s Party said. said in a statement on the social network.

He said that “destructive forces” have “gained the upper hand” in the Social Democratic Party and the People’s Party will not sign a program that is against economic competition.

The leader of the Social Democrats, Andreas Babler, regretted the decision of the People’s Party to end the negotiations. “This is not a good decision for our country.

Babler said one of the main stumbling blocks was how to fix the “record deficit” left by the previous government.

“I suggested to Karl Nehammer and the People’s Party to continue the negotiations and urged them not to stand up,” he told reporters on Saturday evening.

According to the EU Commission, the next government of Austria has to save 18-24 billion euros. In addition, Austria has been in recession for the past two years, faces rising unemployment and its budget deficit currently stands at 3.7% of GDP – above the EU limit of 3%.

Negotiations were delayed after Austria’s president tasked the conservative chancellor with forming a new government in October. This demand came after refusing to work with the leader of all other parties Far-right Freedom Party, which won the national elections in September It is the first time with 29.2% of votes.