Wallner fixes date

ÖVP and FPÖ start government negotiations

Governor Markus Wallner (ÖVP) and FPÖ leader Markus Bitschi were optimistic after the meeting on Thursday that they would be able to come together in terms of content.

(Bild: APA Pool/APA/DIETMAR STIPLOVSEK)

On Monday, the ÖVP and FPÖ will begin talks on the formation of the new Vorarlberg state government. According to Governor Markus Wallner, the negotiations are to be conducted "very quickly" and a budget must be developed in parallel. The new state government is to be sworn in on November 6.

Wallner and FPÖ provincial party chairman Christof Bitschi announced the start date for the negotiations after an "in-depth discussion" lasting around two hours on Thursday afternoon. After the meeting, both were optimistic that they would be able to reach a substantive agreement.

Negotiations must be concluded before All Saints' Day
On Monday afternoon, they will begin with the location-economy-labor market block, said Wallner. The negotiations must be completed by the weekend before All Saints' Day so that the new state government can be sworn in at the constituent session of the state parliament on November 6. The timetable is "quite ambitious" and will probably continue "into the night".  

The Vorarlberg state parliament in Bregenz.

(Bild: SoS)

How many government seats will the FPÖ get?
When asked how many seats the FPÖ would have in the seven-member state government, both emphasized that personnel issues would be negotiated "only at the very end". The content would be in the foreground.

We need an ambitious program that provides good answers to the questions of location, integration, family, education, culture and sport.

Vorarlbergs Landeshauptmann Markus Wallner (ÖVP)

Wallner had gained the impression during the talks that there was nothing insurmountable, even if many details still needed to be clarified. "We still have a few kilometers to go," emphasized Wallner.

Bitschi also reported a "good discussion" in which they talked about cornerstones and key areas. He said he was confident that a good program could be written for the future. When asked about the number of provincial councillors demanded by the FPÖ, Bitschi said that positions would certainly also be discussed "at the last second".

No fears of contact
With Thursday's decision, the FPÖ is now on the verge of returning to the Vorarlberg state government. There are no fears of contact between the ÖVP and FPÖ in Vorarlberg; unlike in other federal states, the black-blue coalition has a long history in the state.

From 1949, representatives of the WdU and from 1954 explicitly of the FPÖ sat on the government bench without interruption until 2009. It was only when the then FPÖ leader Dieter Egger - who had succeeded Hubert Gorbach in the provincial government - made what was seen as an anti-Semitic statement during the 2009 state election campaign that the Freedom Party lost its participation in the government, which the ÖVP had always entered into without any practical constraints apart from the period from 1999 to 2004. After his first state election as the ÖVP's lead candidate in 2014, Wallner opted for a black-green coalition and continued this alliance after 2019, although there have recently been clear signs of wear and tear.