A coalition between the ÖVP and SPÖ after Sunday’s National Council elections is considered a foregone conclusion. But the black and blue supporters have not given up yet.
It is a first in every respect: never before has a Green party prayed for the election victory of an ÖVP politician. Or what you do as a green person. But Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen fervently hopes that ÖVP Chancellor Karl Nehammer will win the match against FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl.
What will Van der Bellen do if Kickl wins the elections?
Not because he ideologically prefers the ÖVP with its organic farmers and European attitude, but because a Nehammer victory offers the solution to what is subjectively the biggest problem of his term: what Van der Bellen will do if Herbert Kickl wins the elections wins?
In all previous National Council elections, the Federal President assigned the first person to form a government on election Sunday. According to custom, this has always been the case. But the Federal President wants to avoid this in the Kickl case. This is not constitutionally stipulated, but the Austrian Constitution gives the Federal President room for maneuver.
Many people, such as Johanna Mikl-Leitner from Lower Austria, believe that Van der Bellen could give command to Kickl, since he does not win a majority anyway. In fact, a government is most likely in any case, or, as some observers say, already dry. Karl Nehammer’s ÖVP will form a government together with the SPÖ.
The industry is against a coalition with SPÖ
If there is no absolute majority in the mandate, the NEOS must participate to complete the black traffic light. Some architects are already preparing this behind the scenes. There is resistance, especially in the ailing industry, to a coalition with the SPÖ, which has moved to the left. That is why these circles insist on black and blue, but this can only be achieved if the ÖVP finishes in first place.
Nehammer does not make Kickl chancellor
It is impossible for the ÖVP under Karl Nehammer to make Herbert Kickl chancellor. As I said: rarely has a federal president (had to) rely so much on an ÖVP boss. The situation would not be new if a coalition were formed between the second and third placed parties. That happened in 2000. Wolfgang Schüssel (ÖVP) was sworn in as Chancellor, even though he came in a very narrow third place behind the FPÖ. Then-FPÖ leader Jörg Haider renounced his government position and allowed Susanne Riess-Passer (today Riess-Hahn) to become the republic’s first female vice-chancellor.
Speaking of giving in: Karl Nehammer firmly rules out a coalition with Herbert Kickl, but not with the FPÖ.
FPÖ without Kickl in government is impossible
Can the 2000 model, in which it is not Herbert Kickl who leads the FPÖ in government, but rather the Upper Blue as the rope puller and content with the job of chairman of the National Council or club president in parliament, be repeated? If you ask around the Blues, the answer will be a unanimous “No.” Kickl doesn’t want to make Haider’s mistake again. Already in 2019, the day after the Ibiza video was published, the ÖVP failed to stage this coup. At the time, the ÖVP demanded not only Strache but also Kickl’s resignation. That did not happen in the FPÖ. The coalition was broken up and, as is known, there were new elections.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
