Austrian President Asks Election Runner-Up—Not Winner—To Form Government

Democracy is dead in Austria. It died a slow death, but the final blow was Van der Bellen calling on the losers to form a Government.

From The European Conservative

By Zoltán Kottász

The right-wing FPÖ called the decision a “slap in the face” for voters.

Alexander Van der Bellen, president of Austria, has decided to betray the will of the people by tasking Chancellor Karl Nehammer, head of the centre-right People’s Party (ÖVP), rather than the election-winning FPÖ’s Herbert Kickl, with forming a government. The ÖVP secured 26.3% of the votes on September 29th, while the national-conservative anti-immigration Freedom Party (FPÖ) received 28.8%. Traditionally, the largest party is given the task of government formation.

Van der Bellen justified his decision on Tuesday, October 22nd, by saying that FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl cannot find a coalition partner who will make him chancellor. He said:

I would like to emphasise one thing: the national election is not a race in which the party that came first governs. Anyone who wants to govern alone must cross the fifty percent hurdle. Those who do not manage to do so must convince partners and the president.

He added that a coalition consists of parties who have the ability to compromise, who want to work together, and trust each other. Austria needs a stable, capable government with integrity, he said.

Instead of tasking the FPÖ with trying to form a government—as would be the usual practice—the president last week asked the leaders of the three biggest parties, the FPÖ, the ÖVP, and the Social Democrats (SPÖ) to hold talks to explore possible coalition scenarios.

Both the ÖVP and the SPÖ, as well as the Greens and the liberal NEOS party, have refused to cooperate with the Freedom Party. Van der Bellen cited some of their fears with regards to working together with the FPÖ: “concerns about the rule of law and liberal democracy, massive security concerns of foreign intelligence services, the divisive language of the FPÖ leader, the lack of distance from right-wing extremism.”

These are the usual, but baseless accusations made against nationalist-sovereigntist parties all across Europe, and are cited as justification for rejecting their claim to power or to high-ranking positions, as was recently made evident in the European Parliament.

Following the negotiations last week, Herbert Kickl said it was obvious that the talks were just a show for the public, and that the creation of a grand coalition involving the People’s Party and the Social Democrats had in fact been decided long ago.

This means that the desire of the voters to create a centre-right coalition, consisting of the ÖVP and the FPÖ, which is tough on immigration, will be discarded and government politics will shift to the left. Kickl believes this will eventually lead to the introduction of wealth and inheritance taxes, and the policies of such a government will “poison” Austria as a business location.

After the president’s announcement on Tuesday, Kickl said the decision was a “slap in the face” for the voters backing his party, but that he would keep his arm outstretched to the leaders of other parties, and be ready to enter into a coalition if such a scenario arises.

Other FPÖ politicians also derided the president for Van der Bellen’s choice, with Viennese FPÖ leader Dominik Nepp calling the decision a “black day for democracy,” and Deputy Governor of Lower Austria Udo Landbauer (also FPÖ) saying that a “backroom deal” had been made “against the will of the population.”

The anger in Austria about stopping the FPÖ from governing is already being felt, as opinion polls show that the party has gained an additional 4% support, taking it to 33%.