Austria President Hands Runner-Up Conservatives Path to Rule
(Bloomberg) -- Austria’s president asked the ruling conservative party to start coalition negotiation with the Social Democrats, snubbing the most popular far-right Freedom Party after it failed to find a potential partner.
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Mandating incumbent Chancellor Karl Nehammer with the discussions offered the highest chance of finding a majority in parliament after elections last month, Alexander Van der Bellen told reporters in Vienna Tuesday. While the Freedom Party finished first in September’s election with 29% of the vote, it’s still far short of forming a majority in Austria’s consensus-based political system.
“The task at hand is to find another way to establish a stable federal government that is capable of action and has integrity as quickly as possible,” he said.
The mandate comes after weeks of negotiations among the leaders of the three largest parties, and with Van der Bellen. The Freedom Party received the most backing at an election for the first time, but all other political groups had vowed not to make its leader, Herbert Kickl, Chancellor.
Speaking to reporters, Nehammer said he will organize coalition negotiations around the core topics of economic growth and competitiveness, migration and integration, as well as improving social security and health-care.
The conservatives will seek a third partner, beyond the social democrats, to ensure a stable majority and implement necessary changes, he said.
(Adds comment from Nehammer in fourth and fifth paragraph.)
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