VdB: "Clarify quickly"

What now? Kickl and Stocker to the Federal President

ÖVP leader Christian Stocker arriving at the Hofburg. He emphasized to journalists that there was still a "need for discussion" on some points with the FPÖ.

(Bild: AFP)

Will the blue-black coalition negotiations finally fail - or will there still be a last-minute agreement? The rumor mill is churning. On Tuesday afternoon, FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl visited Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen in the Hofburg. In the evening, ÖVP leader Christian Stocker followed. However, the mood was not very rosy and sharp words also came from the Hofburg - an overview of the day's events.

The FPÖ and ÖVP have been in coalition negotiations for five weeks now. At first it looked like a quick agreement would be reached, after all a joint savings package of around 6.4 billion euros was presented in mid-January. Since then, the blue-black negotiating engine has been sputtering.

The most important developments in brief:

• From the FPÖ's point of view, the negotiations have not failed. At the same time, they are aware that they now have to press ahead, said Kickl on his arrival at the Hofburg. 
• ÖVP leader Christian Stocker still sees a "need for discussion" and seemed less than euphoric. His meeting with Van der Bellen lasted an hour, after which he left the Hofburg without saying a word.

• The negotiations between the FPÖ and ÖVP continued on Tuesday. The ÖVP in particular raised eyebrows with critical voices.
• The SPÖ and NEOS want to prevent an FPÖ Chancellor Kickl and are in favor of resuming three-way negotiations with the ÖVP.
• After Van der Bellen's two meetings with the party leaders, the Hofburg told the "Krone" that the Federal President had asked both of them to "clarify quickly and definitively whether the negotiations can be concluded". 

You can read about the day's events in the ticker here:

Blue-Black: Things went downhill after the austerity package agreement
Statements by ÖVP leader Christian Stocker, for example, who demanded a course correction from the Freedom Party in a media background discussion, recently caused disgruntlement among the FPÖ. The FPÖ's demand for a bank levy caused further controversy. As is well known, negotiations were interrupted the previous week, after which there was complete radio silence between the negotiating leaders for around two days.

The FPÖ and ÖVP negotiating teams

(Bild: APA-PictureDesk/HELMUT FOHRINGER / APA / picturedesk.com)

There are also wild disputes regarding the division of portfolios. FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl always insists on both ministries: Finance and Home Affairs. The ÖVP, on the other hand, submitted a paper to the Blue Party in which common basic guidelines for governing were to be defined.

ÖVP attacks FPÖ: "rush for power"
Statements by Harald Mahrer, President of the Chamber of Commerce, point to a breakdown in the blue-black negotiations. The black negotiator sharply attacked the FPÖ on Tuesday: "Austria is a democracy and basic democratic principles are important here. Anyone who is not willing to reach a consensus and is only in a power frenzy may not be fit to govern." 

The fact is: four and a half months have already passed since the National Council elections - but there is still no new government. As a reminder, Karl Nehammer, then leader of the second-placed ÖVP, was initially tasked with forming a government. After the failure of the three-way talks between the ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS, Nehammer resigned and FPÖ leader Kickl was tasked with forming the government. 

Federal President prepared for all scenarios
The Office of the Federal President emphasized on Monday that it was prepared for all scenarios. Should the blue-black coalition negotiations collapse, there are several possible scenarios: In addition to new elections or renewed black-red negotiations, there is also the option of the Federal President appointing a government of experts - this would, of course, have to be supported by a majority in parliament.