Formation of a government in Austria apparently successful

RP ONLINE Formation of a government in Austria apparently successful 13 hours • 2 minutes reading time Vienna. The coalition negotiations in Austria appear to be close to completion. The government program of the conservative ÖVP, social democratic SPÖ and liberal Neos is expected to be presented on Thursday, party circles said on Wednesday. However, further delays cannot be completely ruled out. The date has not been officially confirmed and details were also open for the time being. On Saturday, during a visit to Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen, the party leaders announced that they had entered the home stretch in forming a new government. For Austria, this would be the first three-party coalition, which is also known here as a "sweetheart coalition". Three parties are also currently in power in many other countries of the European Union (EU). For the ÖVP, SPÖ and Neos, this is the second attempt to form a coalition after the parliamentary elections at the end of September. In the election, the right-wing populist FPÖ won the most votes for the first time, with almost 29 percent. But since the then ÖVP leader Karl Nehammer ruled out a coalition with the FPÖ under the leadership of FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl, the conservatives negotiated with the SPÖ and the Neos. After weeks of talks, however, the negotiations unexpectedly collapsed in January. The FPÖ was then given the mandate to form a government, but the negotiations between the FPÖ and ÖVP also failed. The coalition negotiations have now been going on for 150 days, the longest the country has ever waited for a new government. If an agreement is reached now, ÖVP leader Christian Stocker could become the new Federal Chancellor and SPÖ leader Andreas Babler Vice Chancellor. Monday was considered a possible date for the swearing-in.