Austria: can the FPÖ and ÖVP work together?
More than four months after Austria's parliamentary elections, the quest to form a new government continues. Initial coalition negotiations between the ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS failed. Now talks between the right-wing populist FPÖ, which garnered the most votes in the election, and the conservative ÖVP, which came in second, are stalling. The national press sees potentially irreconcilable differences.
Kickl wants to break the system, not just bend it
The Freedom Party wants nothing less than to radically restructure Austria, Der Standard explains:
“It doesn't want a 'piece of the cake', as it may have done under former party leader Heinz-Christian Strache. It wants to dump the cake and bake something completely different. And little in Austria is more representative of the 'system' than the ÖVP, which has been in government for almost forty years. ... The FPÖ, on the other hand, doesn't want to bend the system, it wants to break it. ... No doubt the ÖVP thought it could counter all these excesses. But the FPÖ's wish list of ministries now being circulated shows how serious Kickl is: in addition to the chancellery he wants the EU, media, interior, finance and possibly also the justice portfolios. With those means at its disposal, the FPÖ would have all the levers to reshape the Third Republic. What role would that leave for the ÖVP?”
Conservatives face acid test
The ÖVP will have to bend over backwards for this coalition to work, writes the Kleine Zeitung:
“After just two and a half weeks all the subgroups have submitted their final reports and now it's up to Herbert Kickl and Christian Stocker to clear the big hurdles in a smaller group. This is no easy task. FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl will only agree to a deal if his party's blue signature is recognisable in the policy areas ORF [Austria's public broadcaster], Covid, the banks and Europe - with blue characteristics such as a speed limit of 150 km/h on certain motorway sections. The ÖVP is facing an internal acid test. Many can imagine a coalition with the FPÖ, but not with Kickl.”
More willingness to compromise needed
Die Presse admonishes:
“Both sides will have to make painful compromises - and each party must also be able to sell itself. Otherwise the division of portfolios already harbours the seeds of failure. The FPÖ should also not forget that its starting position could change quickly. Not so long ago, the ÖVP won the EU and National Council elections under Sebastian Kurz and was on the rise everywhere. Polls even predicted an absolute majority at the start of the pandemic. Less than a year and a half later, Kurz left office and the party plummeted in the polls. As the FPÖ's junior partner, it must now fight hard to retain at least one prestigious portfolio.”