Mood undercooled

Kickl: Secretly, quietly and quietly into the Hofburg

Can the FPÖ and ÖVP get together after all? In view of the bad mood of the past few days, doubts are being raised.

(Bild: Eva Manhart)

Stalemate in the coalition talks between the FPÖ and ÖVP. The possible FPÖ Chancellor Herbert Kickl appeared for talks with the Federal President on Thursday and left the Hofburg without saying a word. However, the talks are to continue despite the mood of crisis - according to information from "Krone", they are to continue on Friday. 

"The talks with the Austrian People's Party on the formation of a federal government, which were recently interrupted at chief negotiator level, will be continued as soon as possible", Kickl announced on Thursday afternoon after a telephone call with ÖVP leader Christian Stocker. The latter also confirmed the continuation shortly afterwards via the short message service X (formerly Twitter).

According to party circles, the talks between the party leaders and chief negotiators are not expected to take long. They are expected to sit down at the table again on Friday.

Cool mood among potential partners
However, the mood between the FPÖ and ÖVP continued to cool on Thursday. Following the latest escalation over who gets which ministries, the ÖVP said that it had submitted a counter-proposal to the FPÖ - which the FPÖ denied.

The FPÖ leader arrived for his appointment at the Hofburg shortly before 2 p.m. on Thursday. He arrived by car and made no statement to the waiting journalists. Shortly after 3 p.m., the FPÖ leader left the building again, again without making a statement.

Can the FPÖ and ÖVP get together after all? In view of the bad mood of the past few days, doubts are being raised.

(Bild: Eva Manhart)

What was discussed in the Hofburg? It was agreed not to say.

(Bild: Eva Manhart)

President will not comment for the time being
The presidential chancellery confirmed the talks with the two party leaders on Thursday afternoon, but did not reveal the content of the discussions. Confidentiality had been agreed with both negotiating partners. There are currently no plans for the head of state to comment on the current situation.

The FPÖ is hoping that it will now be clear how to proceed. After all, it is currently not known what the ÖVP has in mind and what ÖVP leader Stocker discussed with the President on Wednesday, according to blue negotiating circles on Thursday afternoon.

ÖVP speaks of counter-offer, FPÖ denies
In any case, the faltering coalition negotiations are likely to have been the topic. According to ÖVP circles, the proposal presented by Kickl on Tuesday regarding the division of ministries is "unacceptable" for the People's Party, does not correspond to the election results and is therefore not on an equal footing.

Following an internal vote on Wednesday, a counter-proposal was therefore submitted to the Freedom Party, which "can be discussed at the negotiating table if Herbert Kickl wants to continue the talks he has interrupted".

This presentation by the ÖVP angered the FPÖ on Thursday. They denied that they had received a counter-offer from the ÖVP. There had merely been an "atmospheric discussion between two members of the chief negotiators' group" on Wednesday - not the party leaders - and nothing more.

They are still waiting for an answer from the ÖVP regarding the list submitted by Kickl. Furthermore, the FPÖ angrily denied having interrupted the negotiations on Tuesday, as the People's Party claimed. Kickl had submitted the list to Stocker, Stocker had then announced internal consultations and left.