The Austrian far right is urging conservatives to be “honest” during coalition negotiations

Herbert Kickl, the leader of the Austrian far-right Freedom Party (FPO), has urged the conservative People’s Party (OVP) to be “honest” in their upcoming coalition negotiations or consider the possibility of a sudden election. His popularity continues to increase, while the OVP’s is declining.

The FPO, a Eurosceptic party that is pro-Russia and an ally of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz, secured approximately 29% of the vote in the most recent parliamentary election in September. However, it was initially marginalized as centrist parties endeavored to build a coalition without it.

At the weekend, those endeavors were unsuccessful, compelling President Alexander van der Bellen to assign Kickl the responsibility of establishing a government. This gave Kickl the opportunity to become the first FPO chancellor in Austria since the party was established in the 1950s under the leadership of a senior SS officer and Nazi lawmaker.

“Honest government must be preceded by honest negotiations,” Kickl stated, indicating: “No little games, no tricks, no sabotage.”

He also urged the new, interim OVP leader, Christian Stocker, to guarantee the stability and unity of his party, a reference to the divisions that appear to have contributed to the collapse of the centrist coalition negotiations.

“If that is not the case, a snap election will be conducted.” Kickl stated, “We are prepared.” This statement is a clear threat, as opinion polls indicate that the FPO has experienced an increase in support since September, while the OVP has experienced a decline, resulting in a disparity of over 10 percentage points.

The policy details of Kickl’s statement, which was his first since Van der Bellen announced that he had entrusted him with establishing a government, were short.

He expressed his desire for a “massive political firefighting operation” to stabilize the Alpine republic’s finances, but he did not provide any specifics.

The primary issue in the centrist coalition negotiations was how to reduce the budget deficit to within the European Union’s 3% limit of economic output.

It is uncertain how the FPO and OVP would accomplish this; they both favor reducing government spending over increasing taxation, but they are hesitant to eliminate significant expenditures such as pensions.

Kickl stated that he would extend an invitation to engage in discussions with the OVP, his sole prospective coalition partner, following the approval of the move by his party’s leadership on Tuesday evening. He also stated that the talks should be initiated promptly to determine the feasibility of a coalition.