Austria’s centrist parties have struck a deal to form a coalition government, staving off the prospect of a government led by the far right and the possibility of a snap election in the central European country.
The centre-right People’s party (ÖVP), the centre-left Social Democratic party (SPÖ), and the liberal Neos said in a statement on Thursday they had agreed on a programme for a coalition. ÖVP leader Christian Stocker is expected to become chancellor.
The agreement comes after coalition talks between the far-right Freedom party (FPÖ), which came first in parliamentary elections last year, and the ÖVP collapsed earlier in February over differences on Russia, the EU and control over intelligence operations.
Thursday’s announcement caps five months of political turmoil in Vienna and serves as a warning for other far-right, pro-Russia parties gaining traction in elections in Germany and other European countries.
The coalition agreement will come as a relief to many EU governments that Austria will remain a reliable partner. Many had feared a tilt further to the right at a time when Donald Trump’s administration has embraced Europe’s far-right movement, with US vice-president JD Vance criticising the continent’s political establishment for seeking to keep the far right out of power.
The FPÖ in September scored a historic victory, winning just under 29 per cent of the vote after a hardline campaign in which its firebrand leader Herbert Kickl styled himself as “Volkskanzler”, or the people’s chancellor, a phrase used by Adolf Hitler.
It was the first time in Austria’s postwar history that a far-right party had come first in parliamentary elections, even as the FPÖ had previously been a junior partner in coalition governments.
The FPÖ in 2016 signed a co-operation agreement with Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party. The Austrian party has opposed western sanctions imposed on Russian companies and individuals in response to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. FPÖ lawmakers in 2023 also walked out of parliament during a virtual address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Following the September vote, the ÖVP, which came second, tried to form a coalition with SPÖ and Neos but the effort collapsed in January, opening the way for Kickl to form a government. Kickl demanded fresh elections this month as the latest centrist coalition negotiations struggled to progress and ultimately failed.
Public opinion has moved further in favour of his party, some polls have indicated. One poll for tabloid Kronen Zeitung in January suggested FPÖ would surge to 37 per cent in a snap vote, while the ÖVP would fall to 21 per cent.
The drawn-out negotiations have exacerbated Austria’s economic woes. The country faces the prospect of its economy shrinking for a third straight year. Vienna must find at least €18bn in budget cuts to fix its finances, according to European Commission figures.
The coalition parties said “work has been carried out around the clock on a joint programme”, entitled: “Do the right thing now. For Austria.”