This development comes after elections in October.
It
would make Austria the only country in Western Europe to have a
far-right party in government. It is the first time the far right is in
an Austrian government coalition in more than 10 years.
Austria
was governed by a coalition led by Chancellor Christian Kern's Social
Democrats and Kurz's People's Party, but that partnership collapsed in
May, prompting a snap vote.
The People's Party won the election but needed to form a coalition because it didn't win a majority of the votes.
The Freedom Party has a long history in Austria's Parliament and was part of a coalition government between 2000 and 2005.
There has been a rise across Europe of populist far-right parties, many of which have campaigned on anti-immigration platforms.
Immigration
has dominated the campaign. Kurz has taken a hard line, calling for
limits on the number of refugees entering Europe and benefits cuts for
EU migrants living in Austria.
In
2016, Kurz spearheaded a border crackdown across the Balkans designed to
stem the flow of migrants, and this year he proposed plans to seal off
the Mediterranean route to Europe.
