In Austria, coalition negotiations between the ÖVP, SPÖ and Neos failed. The Liberals no longer want to negotiate a three-party coalition with the Conservatives and the Social Democrats, as party leader Beate Meinl-Reisinger announced. The talks will not be continued in the role of a future government partner. She informed her negotiating partners Karl Nehammer (ÖVP), Andreas Babler (SPÖ) and Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen about this in the morning.
Governing is not an end in itself, said Meinl-Reisinger at a press conference called at short notice. She particularly addressed the poor economic situation and called for reforms. The Liberals have long said that “Austria will have to save money”. Past governments have left a massive hole in the budget. In the National Council election in September, the population spoke out against “business as usual,” said the Neos boss.
Because of the austerity constraints, we went into the coalition negotiations “knowing that one arm was tied behind our backs,” said Meinl-Reisinger. We must ensure that competitiveness and prosperity in the country increase again. Austria is in an economic crisis and at the same time has to make strict austerity measures in order to meet the EU criteria for financial stability. The balance between austerity and measures that stimulate the economy is considered the main task of a new government.
In the last few days, however, the impression has arisen, said Meinl-Reisinger, that no progress has been made on central issues, “but actually steps backwards”. She addressed budget issues and, above all, the retirement age. This is 65 years, the Neos want to increase it.
The SPÖ, on the other hand, strictly rejects this. There is a state of shock in the party, he reports standard. A negotiator said that Neo’s exit was not foreseeable during the last negotiations on Thursday evening. The announcement comes as a surprise. What happens next is unclear. In the Austrian Parliament, the ÖVP and SPÖ together barely have an absolute majority. In order to secure this, they wanted to involve the Neos in the coalition.
The mood between the ÖVP and SPÖ is apparently anything but good. Immediately after the press conference Meinl-Reisinger pushed ÖVP General Secretary Christian Stocker the Social Democrats are responsible for the failure of the talks. “The behavior of parts of the SPÖ has led to the current situation,” he said. Backward-looking forces had prevailed among the Social Democrats.
If it is not possible to form a coalition government, new elections could take place in Austria. In these cases, the right-wing FPÖ could gain votes again. It had already become the strongest force in September, but no one wanted to work with FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl in the government. Recent surveys signaled another large increase in votes compared to the National Council election. Accordingly, the FPÖ could expect up to 40 percent.
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the retirement age in Austria was 67. In fact, it is 65 years for men, and from 2033 also for women. We apologize for the error.
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