Last but not least, it is not clear whether the Federal President will give a mandate to form a government. There is no need to do that; in fact, he has so far only used to commission the Federal President on the leader of the party with the highest number of votes to form a government. But this is not specified by law.
Van der Bellen has already made it clear several times that he simply does not want to entrust the FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl, who emerged for the first time in the National Council election, to form a government. Without a mandate to form a government, the parties could still seek majorities among themselves and offer them to the Federal President.
Series of photos with 5 pictures
In government, Van der Bellen said last week, it was important to him that “the foundations of our liberal democracy are respected” – the rule of law, separation of powers, human and minority rights and respectful interaction with each other. Because “Words create reality. We have to choose them carefully,” said the Federal President last Wednesday when the current government of the ÖVP and the Greens was tasked with continuing business until a new government is sworn in.
Nehammer, Babler, Kogler: “Reliable”
At the end of the series of debates, Van der Bellen consulted with the leader of the Green Party Werner Kogler and the leader of NEOS Beate Meinl-Reisinger on Tuesday. As on Monday with SPÖ party leader Andreas Babler and Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) and on Friday with Kickl, nothing was known about the content of the discussion.
For Nehammer, Babler and Kogler, the talks were “very confident” out of “confidence,” as they told the media. Babler said they had a “very good conversation” about the “political situation in Austria”. Kogler also referred to secrecy on Tuesday. It is now important to find common ground when it comes to future decisions, Kogler continued.
Meinl-Reisinger: “Looking to the future, but also worried”
Meinl-Reisinger was a little more willing to provide information. Now everyone has a responsibility to ensure the future of the country, she said before her conversation with the Federal President. Afterwards, the NEOS manager reported to journalists that she confirmed to Van der Bellen her basic willingness to “work on reforms in an energetic, future-oriented way and engage in corresponding discussions with the SPÖ and ÖVP”.
The exchange with the Federal President was very much in the forefront of “looking towards the future, but also concerned”, especially in relation to the economic and budgetary situation concerned. In this light, she sees that all parties are responsible. Many of the reforms she believes are necessary require a two-thirds majority in parliament, which is why she has invited all parties to “reform talks”. According to NEOS, there are no specific dates for this yet.
debate
What would the participation of the FPÖ government mean?
Kickl: “Enjoyable conversation”
Kickl described his meeting with Van der Bellen as “a pleasant conversation, the atmosphere was quite good,” as he told his supporters on Sunday at the launch of the FPÖ’s election campaign in Styria, where the state elections will take place on the 24th of November. Van der Bellen listened very carefully and took a lot of time. According to his own statement, Kickl “deposited” that the FPÖ and he wanted to rule.
Each discussion so far has lasted about an hour and a half. After the round of debates ends, Van der Bellen wants to make a public comment on how to proceed. It remains to be seen exactly when and if that will happen on Tuesday.
Webhofer on the search for a coalition
The series of talks with Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen came to an end on Tuesday with Beate Meinl-Reisinger (NEOS) and Werner Kogler (Greens). In the debates, he first acted as a listener, analyzing the ORF head of domestic policy Klaus Webhofer. Now the ball is in the Federal President’s court.
“Atmospheric Exchange” by Nehammer and Babler
Meanwhile, there was also an informal discussion on Tuesday. Nehammer and Babler met for a one-on-one discussion. These are not exploratory talks or coalition talks, as both parties emphasized, but an “atmospheric exchange”. Both announced this in identical statements to the APA. “It’s part of political practice to talk to each other at the party leader level after an election,” both Babler and Nehammer said.
So far, the two have had few points of contact at the federal political level outside of the election campaign. They did not say what the conversation was about. Meinl-Reisinger welcomed the meeting between the two after her conversation with the Federal President: “They should, great,” she said.
Hofburg second round?
As Zeit im Bild reported on Monday, there could even be another round of talks with all party leaders and the Federal President before further steps are taken to form a government. The initial situation for a coalition government is extremely complicated this time, because no party wants to form a coalition government with the FPÖ under Kickl. The SPÖ, NEOS and the Greens spoke out against a coalition government with the FPÖ before and after the National Council election.
In addition, the ÖVP has only a narrow majority of one vote over the SPÖ in the National Council, which would make it likely that a third partner – NEOS or the Greens – would be included if this constellation were chosen.