The Austrian president announced he will meet with the leader of the far-right FPÖ party a day after Chancellor Karl Nehammer said he would resign after talks on forming a new government failed for a second time.
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Austrian President Alexander has agreed to meet the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) leader Herbert Kickl on Monday after multiple failed attempts to form a government coalition without it, he said in a press conference on Sunday.
"Voices within the (conservative) People's Party that ruled out cooperation with an FPÖ under Herbert Kickl have become much quieter. This in turn means that a new path may be opening up that did not exist before," Van der Bellen said.
Coalition talks have dragged on for months. The liberal Neos party, alongside Nehammer's conservative Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPÖ) have been trying to forge a threeway ruling coalition after the far-right Freedom Party won national elections in September with 29.2% of the vote.
However, the parties have struggled to reach an agreement. On Saturday, Austria's Chancellor Karl Nehammer announced he would resign in the coming days after talks on forming a new government failed for a second time.
Nehammer's announcement came after the People's Party and the Social Democrats continued coalition talks a day after the liberal Neos party’s surprise withdrawal from discussions.
Van der Bellen said Chancellor Karl Nehammer will remain in his position until he appoints a new interim, which he said he would do over the next week.
Earlier today, Austria's ruling ÖVP nominated its General Secretary Christian Stocker to succeed Nehammer.
Stocker said he is prepared to accept the invitation by the FPÖ to form a new government.
“I welcome the fact that the president is inviting Herbert Kickl, the leader of the strongest party, and is expected to entrust him with the formation of a government. We are ready for talks with the FPÖ," Stocker said.
Stocker, a lawyer and member of the Austrian Parliament, has served as general secretary of the ÖVP since 2022. He is seen as an experienced and calm crisis communicator who has frequently appeared in Austrian media to defend controversial decisions.