Speculation grows that Austrian far-right leader Herbert Kickl will be asked to form a government – National

Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen announced on Sunday that he would meet the far-right politician Herbert Kickl, as speculation is growing that he will ask the leader of the Freedom Party to form a government.

Van der Bellen made the announcement after a meeting with Chancellor Karl Nehammer and others in his presidential palace.

Nehammer has announced his intention to step down after coalition talks between his conservatives Austrian The People’s Party and the centre-left Social Democrats collapsed over the budget.

Nehammer has ruled out working with Kickl, but others within his party are less determined.

Earlier on Sunday, the People’s Party nominated its general secretary, Christian Stocker, as interim leader, but the president said that Nehammer would remain chancellor for the time being.

In the past, Stocker has criticized Kickl, calling him a “security risk” to the country.

In its election program entitled “Fortress Austria”, the Freedom Party calls for “remigration of uninvited foreigners,” for the achievement of a more “homogeneous” nation through tight control of borders and the suspension of the right to asylum through an emergency law .

The Freedom Party also calls for an end to sanctions against Russia, is very critical of Western military aid to Ukraine and wants to withdraw from the European Sky Shield Initiative, a missile defense project launched by Germany. The Freedom Party also signed a friendship agreement with Putin’s United Russia Party in 2016 which it now claims has expired.

Kickl has criticized “elites” in Brussels and called for some powers to be returned from the European Union to Austria.

This weekend, Van der Bellen said he spoke for several hours with important officials, after which he got the impression that “the voices within the People’s Party that rule out working with the Freedom Party under its leader Herbert Kickl have become quieter. “

The president said that this development “potentially opened a new path”, which prompted him to invite Kickl to a meeting on Monday morning.

Kickl’s Freedom Party topped the polls in the autumn national elections with 29.2% of the vote, but Van der Bellen instructed Nehammer to form a new government, as no other party was ready to cooperate with Kickl.

That decision drew heavy criticism from the Freedom Party and its supporters, with Kickl saying in October that it was “not right and not logical” that he was not given a mandate to form a government.

Related News

• Far-right party expects to win the national elections in Austria

• The liberal president of Austria confirms the victory of the re-election, because the votes occur

“We are not responsible for the wasted time, the chaotic situation and the huge breach of trust that has arisen,” Kickl said on social media on Sunday afternoon. “On the contrary: it is clear that the Freedom Party has been and remains the only stable factor in Austrian politics.”

Speaking to reporters on Sunday afternoon, Stocker confirmed that he had been “unanimously” appointed by his party to serve as interim leader. “I am very honored and happy,” he said.

He also welcomed the president’s decision to meet Kickl and said he now expects the leader of the party that emerged as the clear winner from the last election to be tasked with forming a government.

“If we are invited to negotiations to form a government, we will accept this invitation,” Stocker added.

Austria was thrown into political turmoil on Friday after the liberal party Neos withdrew from the coalition talks with the People’s Party and the Social Democrats.

On Saturday, the two remaining parties, which only hold a one-seat majority in parliament, made another attempt to form a government – but that also ended in failure after a few hours, with negotiators saying they would did not agree on how the budget deficit.

& copy 2025 The Canadian Press