No three-party government

That’s it: NEOS probably let the coalition collapse!

The Neos are leaving the negotiations on the Zuckerl coalition.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe.com)

The domestic political chaos is probably perfect: The NEOS have just pulled out of the negotiations between Black, Red and Pink. This means that the "candy coalition" is history.  

Beate Meinl-Reisinger and her NEOS negotiating team have given up: In an emotional press conference on Friday morning, she let a lot of frustration show through, speaking of having negotiated with "hands tied behind her back". The SPÖ in particular meant that they no longer saw any possibility of entering into a "sweetener coalition". The Reds had negotiated "more backwards than forwards" - they saw no room for real reforms, they said. The major parties were only ever interested in "carrying on as before", nobody was thinking beyond the next election day.

You can watch the NEOS leader's speech in the video above. 

NEOS leader Beate Meinl-Reisinger during her emotional speech on Friday morning.

(Bild: APA/MAX SLOVENCIK)

Karl Nehammer, Andreas Babler and the Federal President had already been informed about the withdrawal from the negotiations. You can watch the NEOS leader's incendiary speech in the video above.  

Negotiating until the end
"We negotiated with energy from day one, we wanted to achieve more than what was necessary", Meinl-Reisinger told the press. She had made proposals up until last night, but had not been able to push them through. 

The move came as a surprise: only a day before, Karl Chancellor Nehammer had confidently indicated that the "candy coalition" would be in place by Epiphany. After this morning, that is no longer the case. 

Didn't get on right from the start: Babler, Nehammer and Meinl-Reisinger

(Bild: APA/Helmut Fohringer)

Difficult membership survey
There is said to have been trouble behind the scenes in the Pinken party: As the "Krone" reported, an internal member survey should also have been carried out at the NEOS. No approval for the three-party coalition project emerged. However, ÖVP circles have already reported that the SPÖ negotiated "with two faces" and that it ultimately failed due to the "Babler-SPÖ".

Will negotiations continue with two faces?
Apparently, the ÖVP and SPÖ are still trying to convince the NEOS to at least vote in favor of the double budget. According to information from "Krone", this may also determine whether ÖVP leader Nehammer and SPÖ leader Andreas Babler will continue to negotiate in pairs or not.

ÖVP also blames the Reds
In an initial reaction, the ÖVP joined in the criticism of the SPÖ: "The behavior of parts of the SPÖ has led to the current situation. While parts of the Social Democrats have contributed constructively, the backward-looking forces in the SPÖ have gained the upper hand in the last few days, resulting in the NEOS withdrawing from the negotiations," said ÖVP General Secretary Christian Stocker.