After the starting shot

Who is now negotiating the Zuckerl coalition

Now it's official: Nehammer, Meinl-Reisinger and Babler want to go it alone.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Reuters/Lisa Leutner, APA/Helmut Fohringer)

Late, but still: from Thursday, the ÖVP, SPÖ and Neos will be negotiating concretely about the Zuckerl coalition. With the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Harald Mahrer, and the head of the Austrian Trade Union Federation, Wolfgang Katzian, two well-known names are now withdrawing. However, the seven top groups in which the coalition will be decided are still prominent. 

At the weekend, the ÖVP, SPÖ and Neos cleared the final internal hurdles and yesterday they jointly set the political course. In the coming weeks, ÖVP leader Karl Nehammer, SPÖ leader Andreas Babler and the pink front woman Beate Meinl-Reisinger want to build a stable government together. "We are not working together because we have to, but because we want to", emphasized the party leaders. Negotiations will take place almost daily from Thursday in up to 40 sub-groups and seven top-level groups.

Neos will have two group leaders
The latter will be led within the party by those people who - as reported - could also hold the respective ministerial office. The ÖVP and SPÖ make single appointments, the Neos always make double appointments. In the area of fighting inflation, Claudia Plakolm (ÖVP), Julia Herr (SPÖ) and Sepp Schellhorn (Neos) will reportedly sit at the same table.

Schellhorn will also negotiate the topic that is considered a sticking point due to the gaping hole in the budget: economy and finance. However, he will not be meeting Chamber of Commerce President Harald Mahrer. Like ÖGB boss Wolfgang Katzian, he is now withdrawing from the negotiations. Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer is standing in for Mahrer. Michaela Schmidt from Salzburg is negotiating this important topic for the SPÖ. 

In the area of health and social affairs, ÖVP party leader August Wöginger, senior trade unionist Beppo Muchitsch (SPÖ) and Johannes Gasser (Neos), among others, will negotiate. As reported, Baraba Eibinger-Miedl from Styria will be the lead negotiator for the ÖVP in the area of education. She will meet Innsbruck's Deputy Mayor Elli Mayr and the pink Viennese City Councillor for Education Christoph Wiederkehr.

Sven Hergovich.(Bild: krone.tv)

The women's, international and EU cluster is also prominently staffed: Eva-Maria Holzleitner is the SPÖ's choice. The powerful, red women's leader will meet Karoline Edtstadler (ÖVP) and Stephanie Krisper (Neos). The areas of regions, transport and agriculture, meanwhile, will be led by Farmers' Union Director Georg Strasser (ÖVP), Lower Austria's SPÖ regional party leader Sven Hergovich and Karin Doppelbauer from the Neos party, among others.

The area of security, migration and integration is also prominently staffed. ÖVP General Christian Stocker will negotiate with Philip Kucher (SPÖ) and the pink General Douglas Hoyos. 

FPÖ criticized
Criticism has already come from the FPÖ. According to General Secretary Michael Schnedlitz, the "Austro-Ampel of the losers" is exactly what people did not vote for, but instead a "Karl Nehammer job security package".