Blue-black in the final

FPÖ/ÖVP decision today, otherwise negative record

(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

Political observers were actually certain that a blue-black coalition should be a foregone conclusion due to the many commonalities - but then, surprisingly, a lot of sand got into the gears. If no decision is reached today, Tuesday, it will be the longest government negotiations of all time. 

On Wednesday, February 5, the formation of the government will reach a record length. 129 days will have passed since the National Council elections - only after the elections in 1962 has it taken as long for a government to be sworn in.

More than four months after the election, however, there is still no agreement in sight in the coalition negotiations between the FPÖ and ÖVP. The formation of a government is therefore likely to be the longest in the history of the Second Republic.

Failed "sweetener" significantly delays new government
The length is due to the failure of negotiations for a black-red-pink three-party coalition. 96 days after the election, on January 3, the NEOS withdrew from the negotiations, and the next day former ÖVP leader and chancellor Karl Nehammer also broke off negotiations between the ÖVP and SPÖ.

Since January 10, just under a month ago, the election winner, the FPÖ, and the ÖVP have officially been trying to form a coalition - if successful, it would be the first blue-black coalition. However, there are also points of friction here. Whether an agreement can be reached remains to be seen.

That was the previous negative record
Government formations after elections in 1962 and 1999 in second and third place
After the election on November 18, 1962, negotiations between the ÖVP and SPÖ also dragged on for months before the two parties finally reluctantly agreed on a new grand coalition - one last time before the phase of sole governments. The government under Federal Chancellor Alfons Gorbach (ÖVP) was appointed by Federal President Adolf Schärf on March 27, 1963, 129 days after the election.

Black-blue government in office after a long delay
This means that the first black-blue coalition is now the third longest to form a government. Twenty-five years ago, it took a total of 124 days for this coalition to take office. The complicated initial situation after the election on October 3, 1999 certainly had some parallels to the current situation: the SPÖ, which had the most votes, ruled out a coalition with the FPÖ, which came second for the first time, while the ÖVP, which came third, wanted to go into opposition.

 Weeks of coalition negotiations between the SPÖ and ÖVP failed, then things happened in a flash. Just two weeks later, on February 4, the first black-blue coalition under ÖVP leader Wolfgang Schüssel was sworn in.