BERLIN, February 27. /TASS/. Austrian People’s Party, the country’s Social Democratic Party, and the New Austria and Liberal Forum (NEOS) have agreed to form a coalition government almost five months into the republic’s parliamentary election, ORF television reported.
The Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) which secured the first far-right victory in the September election has not become part of the ruling coalition.
Austria held a regular parliamentary election on September 29, 2024. While the FPO, which opposes anti-Russian sanctions and support to Ukraine, won the vote, none of the political forces secured enough mandates to lead the country’s next government.
On February 12, Herbert Kickl, leader of the opposition FPO, said that coalition talks had collapsed. Christian Stocker, a member of the National Council of Austria, explained this came amid warnings from abroad that it should not control the interior ministry. The talks were also complicated by the divide between parties over cooperation between Vienna and NATO and the approach to the EU’s sanctions regime on Russia.