Conservative-led Coalition To Form Austria Government Without Far Right

Faizan Hashmi Published February 27, 2025 | 04:50 PM

Vienna, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Feb, 2025) Austria's conservative People's Party (OeVP) on Thursday announced a government coalition with two centrist parties that excludes the far right, which came first in elections in September.

With the Alpine EU member without a government for the longest stretch in its modern history, the deal caps months of negotiations after the Freedom Party (FPOe)'s historic election win, when it gained almost a third of votes.

Negotiations between the FPOe and OeVP -- which came second in September -- on Austria's first far right-led government broke down this month.

After the collapse, the OeVP, the Social Democrats (SPOe) -- who placed third -- and the liberals resumed coalition talks after their first attempt at forming a government failed in January.

OeVP leader Christian Stocker on Thursday presented the government programme entitled "Do the right thing now. For Austria," together with the two other parties.

"We have just completed perhaps the most difficult government negotiations in the history of our country," Stocker told reporters.

President Alexander Van der Bellen had called on party leaders to quickly compromise.

The three-party governing coalition is Austria's first since 1949.