Austria's head of state calls for compromises

Austria's head of state calls for compromises dpa • 23 hours • 1 minute reading time The president criticizes the lack of willingness to compromise in Austrian politics. After the failure of coalition talks between the FPÖ and ÖVP, Austria's Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen wants to explore with the parties which options will lead out of the political impasse. To this end, he will meet with party representatives in the next few days, said Van der Bellen. He urged the politicians to finally approach each other again. "Compromise has fallen into disrepute," said the head of state. But without this "Austrian recipe for success" it will not work. He called on the parliamentary parties to concentrate on the state as a whole. Several options possible The head of state listed several possible options as solutions to the current situation: new elections in a few months, a new minority government tolerated by parliament, or a government of experts. In addition, Van der Bellen did not rule out that parties could still agree on a viable coalition in another attempt. The FPÖ won the parliamentary election in autumn 2024. A first attempt to form a three-party coalition between the ÖVP, the social democratic SPÖ and the liberal Neos failed. The ÖVP then declared two-party talks with the SPÖ pointless. As a result, Kickl was given the task of forming a government in January.